Core Viewpoint - L'Oréal's Q2 financial results disappointed investors, with a sales decline and lower-than-expected comparable sales growth, raising concerns about its "multi-polar" growth strategy amid pressures from the Chinese market and trade tensions in Europe and the U.S. [1][4] Financial Performance - Q2 sales amounted to €10.74 billion, a year-on-year decline of 1.3%, with comparable sales growth at 2.4%, below the market expectation of 2.9% [4] - Operating profit for the first half reached €4.74 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of €4.69 billion [1] - Net profit (excluding non-recurring items) for the first half was €3.78 billion, a 1% year-on-year increase, with an operating margin improvement of 30 basis points [4] Business Segment Performance - The professional products division led growth with a 6.5% increase, while the core luxury cosmetics division grew only 2%, lagging behind the mass market (2.8%) and active health cosmetics (3.1%) [4][6] - The fragrance category stood out with double-digit growth, significantly outperforming the market average of 7% [6] Regional Performance - Sales in North Asia, particularly in China and South Korea, declined by 1.1% to €5.39 billion, contributing to overall performance challenges [3][4] - Emerging markets showed strong growth, with South Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa achieving 10.4% growth, and Latin America at 10.3% [5][6] - Core markets like Europe and North America experienced slower growth, with increases of 3.4% and 2%, respectively [5] External Challenges - The European Union's decision to impose a 15% tariff on cosmetics imported from the U.S. poses a significant risk, as approximately 30% of L'Oréal's U.S. sales rely on imports [4][5] - The CEO expressed serious concerns about the tariff's impact and indicated potential strategies such as price increases or shifting production to U.S. facilities [5][6]