L’Oréal Sales Disappoint as Weaker US Outweighs China Pickup (1)

L’Oréal SA posted disappointing sales growth last quarter as weakness in the US overshadowed signs of improvement in China.

Sales rose 4.2% in the third quarter on a like-for-like basis, the owner of brands including Maybelline and Lancôme said Tuesday. Analysts had expected a gain of about 4.9%. North America revenue rose 1.4%, missing estimates.

L’Oréal’s shares tumbled as much as 6% in early Paris trading, the biggest intraday decline since April. The stock had risen 16% this year through Tuesday.

“The magnitude of improvement was underwhelming,” Wassachon Fon Udomsilpa, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a ...