Shiseido profit surges 90% as turnaround gains traction

Shiseido reported a 90% surge in profit, evidence that the turnaround plan pursued by the owner of NARS Cosmetics and Clé de Peau Beauté is beginning to take hold. The company pointed to improved performance in the Americas and a standout showing from its fragrance business as the key drivers behind the jump in the second quarter.

The result marks a meaningful shift for a group that has spent recent years working through weak demand in China, its historically most important market, alongside broader softness in prestige beauty. A rebound centred on the Americas suggests Shiseido's restructuring efforts, which have included cost discipline and a sharper focus on core brands, are translating into tangible earnings improvement rather than remaining a strategy on paper.

The scale of the profit jump will be closely watched by the wider beauty industry as a signal of whether the sector's recovery is broadening beyond the fragrance category, which has been one of the few consistent bright spots across prestige beauty this year. For Shiseido, the challenge now is sustaining momentum and demonstrating that the Americas strength and fragrance performance can be replicated in China, where a genuine recovery would mark the clearest confirmation yet that its turnaround is complete.

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