Why Unilever PLC (UL) is the Best Cosmetics Stock to Buy for 2025

We recently published a list of 12 Best Cosmetics Stocks to Buy for 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) stands against other best cosmetics stocks to buy for 2025.

Overview of the Cosmetics Industry

According to Grand View Research, the global cosmetics industry has a market size of around $295.95 billion as of 2023. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1% between 2024 and 2030. The primary driver of this growth is the rising awareness among consumers about improving their external appearance. Products such as makeup, hair care, skin care, and color cosmetics have become essential parts of everyday life, leading to their increased demand. Another factor supporting market expansion in this sector is the introduction of non-toxic, natural, and organic cosmetic products.

The online cosmetics market is reflecting similar trends. According to a report by Mordor Intelligence, the online cosmetics market had a size of $16.23 billion in 2025. It is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.47% between 2025 and 2030, reaching $24.37 billion at the end of the forecast period.

READ ALSO: 15 Best Blue Chip Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and Top 10 Restaurant Stocks to Buy Under $20. 

What Would Trump’s Tariffs Mean for the American K-Beauty Cosmetic Industry?

South Korea takes the lead for cosmetic imports, but a 25% tariff could be imposed on the country if President Trump decides to give the green signal after a 90-day pause on a majority of his new reciprocal tariffs. On April 16, CBS News reported that the US imported more than $7.5 billion in cosmetics last year, according to estimates made by the US International Trade Commission. Around $1.7 billion of these imports came from South Korea, as American retailers are seeing a significant boom in the K-beauty industry with the sale of Korean skincare, hair care, and makeup products. This trend is partly emerging due to social media influencers consistently promoting K-beauty products.

However, the imposition of Trump’s tariffs could result in a significant price hike for these products, which is why consumers are “panic-buying” their favorite Korean products, according to CBS News. These trends are also proving worrisome to the Personal Care Products Council, a trade association representing more than 600 brands such as Estée Lauder, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal, and Neutrogena.

The association said in a statement that it is particularly “concerned about trade policies that could result in higher prices for personal care products,” adding that US consumers use “about six to 12 products each day, including sunscreen, toothpaste, shampoo, moisturizer, and fragrance.”

Our Methodology

We sifted through stock screeners, financial media reports, and ETFs to compile a list of 40 cosmetics stocks and chose the top 12 most popular among hedge funds as of Q4 2024. The list is ordered in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment. We sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 31

Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) is a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company that operates through five segments: Personal Care, Nutrition, Beauty and Well-Being, Home Care, and Ice Cream. Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) offers over 400 brands worldwide. Its Beauty & Well-being segment includes skin care, hair care, and prestige beauty, while the Personal Care segment includes oral care products, deodorant, and skin cleansing, making it one of the best cosmetics stocks to buy according to hedge funds.

On April 15, Barclays analyst Warren Ackerman maintained a Buy rating on Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL). In a report released on April 14, Celine Pannuti CFA from J.P. Morgan also maintained a Buy rating on the company.

The company’s EPS slightly exceeded analyst consensus expectations of £2.965 in fiscal Q4 2024, reaching £2.98, primarily due to solid operational efficiency. However, revenue for the quarter reached £14.2 billion, missing the anticipated £15 billion. The revenue miss was primarily due to currency exchange headwinds and certain market challenges.

Despite that, Unilever PLC (NYSE:UL) reported significant growth across its core brands, with its Power Brands collectively posting a 5.3% increase in underlying sales. The Beauty & Well-being segment underwent a 6.5% growth, while the Personal Care segment attained a 5.2% increase. This growth was attributed to a robust performance by brands such as Sunsilk and Vaseline in Beauty & Well-being and deodorant line innovations in Personal Care.

Overall, UL ranks 9th on our list of the best cosmetics stocks to buy for 2025. While we acknowledge the potential for UL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UL but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.