Kao Valuation Multiples

AbbVie is a pharmaceutical firm with a strong exposure to immunology (with Humira, Skyrizi, and Rinvoq) and oncology (with Imbruvica and Venclexta). The company was spun off from Abbott in early 2013. The 2020 acquisition of Allergan added several new products and drugs in aesthetics, including Botox. The 2024 acquisitions of Cerevel (neuroscience) and ImmunoGen (oncology) help supplement AbbVie's portfolio.

Since its founding in 1837, Procter & Gamble has become one of the world's largest consumer product manufacturers, with annual sales of nearly $85 billion. It operates with a lineup of leading brands, including more than 20 that generate annual global sales of more than $1 billion each, such as Tide laundry detergent, Charmin toilet paper, Pantene shampoo, and Pampers diapers. Sales outside its home turf represent just more than half of the firm's consolidated total.

L’Oréal is the largest beauty product maker in the world, participating in categories including skin care (39% of sales), makeup (19%), hair care (24%), fragrance (14%), and sanitary products (4%). The firm also has a diversified geographic footprint, generating 33% of sales in Europe, 27% from North America, 24% in North Asia, and the rest from various emerging markets across South Asia, Latin America, and Africa. L’Oréal owns a mix of premium and mass beauty brands sold through a wide range of channels such as mass retail, drugstores, department stores, travel retail, e-commerce, hair salons, and medi-spas. Leading brands include Lancôme, Yves Saint Laurent, Maybelline, Kiehl’s, L’Oréal Paris, Kerastase, CeraVe, Garnier, and Armani.

With roughly one-third of the global branded diabetes treatment market, Novo Nordisk is the leading provider of diabetes care products in the world. Based in Denmark, the company manufactures and markets a variety of human and modern insulins, injectable diabetes treatments such as GLP-1 therapy, oral antidiabetic agents, and obesity treatments. Novo also has a biopharmaceutical segment (contributing less than 10% of revenue) that specializes in protein therapies for hemophilia and other disorders.

Unilever is a diversified beauty, wellbeing, and personal care (44% of 2024 sales by value), homecare (20%), and packaged food (36%) company. Its brands include Dove personal-care products, Knorr soups and sauces, Hellmann's mayonnaise, Axe and Rexona deodorants, and TRESemme haircare. The firm has been acquisitive in recent years; notable purchases include Paula's Choice, Liquid I.V., Horlicks, and Wild deodorants. The company derives 58% of its sales from emerging markets and 42% from developed markets. The US is its largest market, accounting for around 20% of sales, followed by India, which accounts for 11% of sales.

EssilorLuxottica is a combination of the leading manufacturer of premium frames and sunglasses and the leading manufacturer of optical lenses. Both companies are significantly larger than the next biggest competitor and command over 15% of the fragmented global eyewear market. The company has a broad geographical presence, with around 37% of sales in Europe, 45% in North America, and the rest in Asia and Latin America.

Since its founding in 1806, Colgate-Palmolive has grown into a leading player in the household and personal care industry. In addition to its namesake oral care line (which accounts for more than 40% of its total sales), the firm manufactures shampoos, shower gels, deodorants, and home care products sold in over 200 countries. International sales account for about 70% of its total business, including approximately 45% from emerging regions. It also owns specialty pet food maker Hill's (around one-fifth of sales), which sells a majority of its products through veterinarians and specialty pet retailers.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd is an Indian consumer goods company. The firm offers different brands from distinct categories, from cosmetics and hygienic items, including detergents, soaps, shampoos, skincare, toothpaste, and deodorants, to food and beverages (tea, coffee, packaged foods). Its product portfolio contains household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Pepsodent, Closeup, Pureit, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Pond's, Vaseline, Lakme, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Kwality Wall's, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, and Fair and Lovely. The company's segments include Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, Foods, and others. Geographically, it generates a majority of its revenue from India.

Galderma was formed in 1981 as a joint venture between Nestle and L’Oreal. It subsequently became a subsidiary of Nestle, called Nestle Skin Health, before being carved out and launched as a stand-alone company in 2019, acquired by a consortium led by Sweden-based EQT fund. The company went public in March 2024 and is listed on the SIX Swiss exchange. Galderma’s science-based portfolio spans multiple dermatology categories, including injectable aesthetics, dermatological skincare, and therapeutic dermatology. It derives around 40% of net sales from the US and employs around 7,00 people.

Bayer is a German healthcare and agriculture conglomerate. Healthcare provides close to half of the company's sales and includes pharmaceutical drugs (39% of total sales in 2024) as well as vitamins and other consumer healthcare products (13% of total). The firm's crop science business (49% of total) sells seeds, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, which was expanded through its 2018 acquisition of Monsanto.

Haleon is one of the largest consumer health companies in the world. Formed by a combination of consumer health divisions of GSK, Pfizer, and Novartis, Haleon separated from GSK and went public in July 2022. The firm generates 60% of sales from global power brands including Sensodyne, Advil, Centrum, and Poligrip, that play in many geographies and are often leaders in their respective categories. It also has a number of local brands, including Emergen-C, Eno, Tums, and Caltrate, that are more tailored to regional needs and have strong local brand equity. Overall, Haleon’s brands tackle a variety of silos within consumer health including oral care, digestive health, pain relief, and nutrition.

Reckitt Benckiser was formed in 1999 through the merger of the British firm Reckitt & Colman and Dutch-based Benckiser. Recently rebranded under the corporate name Reckitt, it sells a portfolio that includes a variety of household and consumer health brands, such as Lysol, Finish, Durex, and Mucinex, many of which hold a number-one or number-two position in their categories globally. Reckitt has repositioned its portfolio and has entered the infant formula market through the acquisition of Mead Johnson in 2017, expanded its consumer health presence by acquiring Schiff Nutrition, K-Y, and Biofreeze, and has exited the food industry. The firm operates in 60 countries and sells products in more than 200, generating over 35% of sales from emerging markets.

Kenvue is the world’s largest pure-play consumer health company by sales, generating over $15 billion in annual revenue. Formerly known as Johnson & Johnson’s consumer segment, Kenvue spun off and went public in May 2023. It operates in a variety of categories within consumer health, such as cough, cold and allergy care, pain management, face and body care, and oral care, as well as women’s health. Its portfolio has some of the most well-known brands in the space, including Tylenol, Listerine, Johnson’s, Aveeno, and Neutrogena. Kenvue announced November 2025 that it signed a deal to be fully acquired by Kimberly-Clark with the deal expected to close during the second half of 2026.

With more than half of its sales from personal care and another third from consumer tissue products, Kimberly-Clark is a leading manufacturer in the tissue and hygiene realm. Its brand mix includes Huggies, PullUps, Kotex, Depend, Kleenex, and Cottonelle. The firm also operates in the professional segment, partnering with businesses to provide safety and sanitary offerings for the workplace. Kimberly-Clark generates just over half its sales in North America and more than 10% in Europe, with the rest primarily concentrated in Asia and Latin America. It intends to add Kenvue's consumer health portfolio to its mix in the second half of calendar year 2026.

Estée Lauder is a leader in the global prestige beauty market, participating across skin care (49% of fiscal 2025 sales), makeup (29%), fragrance (17%), and hair care and others (5%). Top selling brands include Estée Lauder, Clinique, M.A.C, La Mer, Jo Malone London, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, and Origins. The firm operates in more than 150 countries, generating 31% of revenue from the Americas, 37% from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (including travel retail), and 32% from Asia-Pacific. Estée Lauder sells its products through department stores, travel retail, specialty multibrand beauty stores, brand-dedicated freestanding stores, e-commerce, salons/spas, and perfumeries.

Two distinct customer groups constitute Henkel. The consumer segment (around 50% of consolidated 2024 sales) is laundry and home care, including the Persil and Purex laundry detergent brands, and beautycare, including the Schwarzkopf brand in hair care and the Dial brand in hand soap. The adhesives technologies segment makes up the remaining 50% of sales. Sales in Europe accounted for 37% of the firm's consolidated total in 2024, while Asia-Pacific and North America accounted for 16% and 28%, respectively.

Church & Dwight is the leading global producer of baking soda. Its portfolio extends beyond its legacy category to include laundry products, cat litter, oral care, deodorant, and nasal care, all sold under the Arm & Hammer brand. Its brands also include Batiste, OxiClean, Vitafusion, Hero, and TheraBreath, which, together with Arm & Hammer, account for around 70% of its annual sales and profits. Most recently, the firm added Touchland and its hand sanitizer business to its fold. Even as it works to expand its product reach, Church & Dwight still derives around 80% of its sales from its home market in the US.

Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the US with about 1,500 freestanding stores. The firm offers cosmetics (39% of 2024 sales), fragrances (13%), skin care (23%), and hair care products (19%). It also has salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow, that account for about 4% of its revenue and drive traffic. Outside of the US, Ulta acquired premium beauty retailer Space NK and its 83 stores in the UK and Ireland in 2025, is opening franchised stores in Mexico, and has formed a joint venture to expand into the Middle East. In addition, Ulta collects royalties through its Target partnership (set to end in 2026) and credit card revenue. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Essity is a health and hygiene company spun out of Svenska Cellulosa in June 2017. Essity's products span the feminine care, baby care, toilet paper, facial tissue, and wet wipes categories, as well as hand soap, hand sanitizers, and tissue dispensers for institutional customers. Essity also offers medical solutions in the form of wound care, orthopedics, and compression therapy, accounting for around 8% of net sales. Essity operates in 150 markets and generates 60% of its revenue in Europe.

Beiersdorf is a Germany-based company that produces personal-care products, with a focus on manufacturing cosmetic products. The company operates through two business segments. The consumer segment provides skincare and beauty care products and operates portfolio brands such as Nivea, Eucerin, La Prairie, Labello, Hansaplast, Elastoplast, and Florena. The other business segment markets self-adhesive system and product solutions, primarily for industrial customers, under the Tesa brand. Beiersdorf is majority-owned by Maxingvest.

Yunnan Baiyao Group Co Ltd is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of medicines, which include herbal products, daily health products, raw medicine, drug classics, and others.

Ryohin Keikaku Co Ltd operates as a retailer of household and consumer products under the MUJI and IDEE brands. The company conducts its business through four segments: Domestic Business, East Asia Business, Southeast Asia and Oceania Business, and Europe and America Business. The Domestic Business covers product sales in stores and online in Japan, along with procurement and logistics, while the overseas segments engage in product and food-related operations across their respective regions.

CooperCompanies is one of the largest eyecare companies in the US. It operates in two segments: CooperVision and CooperSurgical. CooperVision is a pure-play contact lens business with a suite of spherical, multifocal, and toric contact lenses. The company also has one of the most comprehensive specialty lens portfolios in the world. With brands including Proclear, Biofinity, MyDay, and Clariti, Cooper controls roughly one fourth of the US contact lens market. CooperSurgical, founded in 1990, is made up of equipment related to reproductive care, fertility, and women’s care. Cooper has the broadest medical device coverage of the entire IVF cycle. It also has Paragard, the only hormone-free IUD in the US, and controls 17% of the US IUD market.

Marico Ltd is an Indian consumer goods company. The company provides products across the health, beauty, and wellness category. It manufactures hair care, male grooming, skin care, edible oils, health foods, and fabric care products. Locally, Marico sells its products through brands such as Parachute, Parachute Advansed, Nihar, Nihar Naturals, Saffola, Hair & Care, Livon, Set Wet, Mediker, and Revive. Geographically, the company has two segments; India which derives key revenue; and International.

Since its inception more than 100 years ago, Clorox has expanded to operate in a variety of consumer product categories, including cleaning supplies, laundry care, trash bags, cat litter, charcoal, food dressings, water filtration products, and natural personal care products. Beyond its namesake brand, the firm’s portfolio includes Liquid-Plumr, Pine-Sol, S.O.S, Tilex, Kingsford, Fresh Step, Glad, Hidden Valley, KC Masterpiece, Brita, and Burt’s Bees. More than 80% of Clorox’s sales come from its home turf.

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd is a company that produces household and personal care items. The company has three main product categories: home care, hair care, and personal care. Godrej Consumer Products serves different geographic regions: Asia (India, Indonesia, the Middle East, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka); Africa (South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Kenya); Latin America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay); and Europe (the United Kingdom). The brand portfolio includes Roby, Renew, Darling, and Inecto in hair care; Hit, Ezee, Good Knight in-home care; and Mitu. The company has identified four reportable geographical segments: Segment-1 in India, Segment-2 in Indonesia, Segment-3 in Africa (including Strength of Nature), and Segment-4 encompassing other regions.

Puig is a premium beauty product maker that focuses on fragrances (76% of 2024 sales), with more limited exposure to color cosmetics (16%) and skincare (11%). Through a series of acquisitions, Puig has built a premium portfolio, including brands such as Rabanne, Carolina Herrera, Byredo, L’Artisan Parfumeur, Penhaligon’s, Dries Van Noten, and Charlotte Tilbury, which contributes 95% of total sales. It also has long-term licensing agreements with Christian Louboutin, Adolfo Dominguez, and Antonio Banderas. Puig generates close to 55% of sales from Europe, 36% from the Americas, and 9% from Asia. The Puig family owns 74% of the economic interests in the company and 93% of the voting rights via a dual-class share structure.

Focusing on personal hygiene products utilizing nonwoven fabric, Unicharm is the largest manufacturer of disposable baby diapers and feminine sanitary and adult incontinence products in Japan and Asia. Its personal care business accounted for around 80% of its sales as of 2024, with the balance mainly from pet care. Unicharm generates 66% sales from overseas, of which nearly three-fourths are from Asia, mostly China, Indonesia, and Thailand. India is the fastest-growing market, followed by Vietnam. Outside Asia, Unicharm operates in Saudi Arabia, the Americas, and Europe. Drugstores, supermarkets, baby product specialty stores, and e-commerce are the key sales channels.

APR Co Ltd is a company engaged in the business of beauty and skin care devices, fashion, and entertainment.

Mankind Pharma Ltd is engaged in developing, manufacturing, and marketing a diverse range of pharmaceutical formulations across various acute and chronic therapeutic areas, as well as several consumer healthcare products. It operates at the intersection of Indian pharmaceutical formulations and consumer healthcare sectors providing products at affordable prices and has an established track record of building and scaling brands in-house. The company's brands include Manforce, Prega News, Gas-O-Fast, AcneStar and HealthOK. Geographically, the company derives a majority of its revenue from the sale of pharmaceutical products in India and the rest from its customers located outside India.

Lenskart Solutions Ltd is a technology-driven eyewear company, with a belief that clear vision is fundamental to personal development and well-being. It sells a range of eyewear products including prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other products such as contact lenses and eyewear accessories.

Dabur India Ltd is an Indian FMCG company. Dabur operates in various consumer product categories: hair care, oral care, healthcare, skin care, home and personal care foods. Its portfolio includes the following separate brand identities, promoting a product category: Dabur, for natural healthcare products; Real, for fruit juices and drinks; Vatika, for premium personal care; Hajmola, for digestives; and Fem for skin-care products. The operating segments of the company are; Consumer care, Food, Retail, and others. Maximum revenue is generated from its Consumer care business which represents the sales of home care, personal care, and health care products.

Kimberly - Clark de Mexico SAB de CV manufactures and sells s a wide selection of paper-based products: napkins, kitchen towels, disposable diapers, feminine-care pads, bathroom tissue, facial tissue, and hand towels, among others. The company's business lines comprise: babies and infants, household products, feminine-care products, personal care, and healthcare. Its brand portfolio includes Kleenex, Sanitas, Kimlark, Petalo, Cottonelle, Depend, and Kotex. The company serves the local market, Mexico, but also the United States, Asia, and Central and South America.

Shiseido is a leading Japanese cosmetics manufacturer focused in the prestige and premium categories. Founded in 1872, it was the first Western-style pharmacy in Ginza, Tokyo, and is one of the oldest cosmetics companies globally. Shiseido’s suite of 31 brands, which include its namesake brand, Clé de Peau Beauté, and NARS, had a 10.2% share of Japan’s beauty and personal care market in 2024 according to Euromonitor. It is also ranked in the top 4-5 globally, with around 7% to 8% market share in premium and prestige color cosmetics and skincare. In terms of revenue, Japan and China, which include travel retail, are the two key markets making up 65% of group revenue in 2025.

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd is a personal care and oral care company. The company operates under a single reportable segment, Personal Care (including Oral Care), which includes soaps, cosmetics, toilet preparations, and other products. The company manufactures oral-care products, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, whitening products, and mouthwash solutions. Personal care products include body wash, hand soaps, skincare, and hair care. Geographically, the company generates a majority of its revenue within India and the rest from overseas markets.

Bausch & Lomb is one of the largest vision care companies in the US. The firm was previously a subsidiary under parent company Bausch Health and it was spun off to become a public company in 2022. It operates in three segments: vision care, surgical, and ophthalmic pharmaceuticals. Vision care is composed of contact lenses, a market that B&L controls 10%, and ocular health products, which includes Biotrue and Lumify. Surgical includes a suite of intraocular lenses, equipment for cataract and vitreoretinal surgeries, as well as surgical instruments. Ophthalmic pharmaceuticals has a diverse lineup of products, including Xipere, Vyzulta, and Lotemax that treat different complications. With over 100 products, B&L has the largest portfolio of eye care prescriptions in the space.

Yakult Honsha is a pioneer in probiotics. It launched the probiotic drink Yakult in 1935 after Minoru Shirota’s discovery of Lactobacillus casei Shirota, a strain of lactic acid bacteria proved to be able to live in intestines, in 1930. It operates in 40 countries across four continents selling mainly Yakult probiotic drinks. Apart from the retail outlets, the home delivery channel, served by a team of 83,000 Yakult Ladies globally, contributes about 45% of its probiotic drink volume. Overseas markets contribute 40% of group sales and profits. Yakult has built a meaningful presence in populated emerging markets, including China, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil. It plans to step up expansion in the US. It also operates a pharmaceutical business with an emphasis on oncology drugs.

AmorePacific Corp is a Korea-based company engaged in the manufacture and sale of beauty, personal care, and household products. The company operates through two main divisions: the Cosmetics Business Division, which includes premium and luxury brands such as Sulwhasoo, Hera, Laneige, IOPE, Aestura, and COSRX; and the Daily Beauty (DB) Business Division, which focuses on household and personal care brands including Ryeo, Mise-en-scene, and Happy Bath. It generates the majority of its revenue from the Cosmetics business division.

Fielmann Group AG is involved in purchase and sale of goods, in physical stores as well as wholesale and online, particularly in optometric and hearing acoustics sectors, and especially sales of all kinds of vision aids - particularly glasses, eyeewear frames and lenses, sunglasses, contact lenses, accessories, hearing systems as well as personal protective eqipments. The assortment of models is fashionable, and the firm offers its products at reasonable prices. Fielmann is involved in all levels of the optical industry value-added chain: designing, manufacturing, product offering, and optician services.

Giant Biogene Holding Co Ltd design, develop and manufacture professional skin treatment products with recombinant collagen as the key bioactive ingredient. The company also develops and manufactures rare ginsenosides technology-based functional foods. The company utilizes proprietary synthetic biology technology to develop and manufacture multiple types of recombinant collagen and rare ginsenosides in-house. Bioactive ingredients offer a wealth of beauty and health properties such as skin repair, anti-aging, whitening, moisturizing and immunity improvement with a broad range of applications in the beauty and health sectors.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd is an India-based subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline plc. GSK India develops and manufactures medicines, vaccines, and consumer products. Its medicines portfolio includes prescription drugs for conditions that include asthma, infectious diseases, mental health, and digestion, as well as nonprescription nutrition and cosmetic products. Its vaccine product line includes treatments for conditions such as influenza, HPV, hepatitis, and measles. Its consumer healthcare products include Horlicks-brand packaged food and beverage powders among other retail products. The company derives a majority of its revenue from India.

Proya Cosmetics Co Ltd is engaged in the research and development, manufacture and sale of skin care and cosmetics products. Its Sells products under Proya, Uzero, Anya, Yoya, and Cats Roses brands in China. It focuses on the application of advanced marine technology, pure clean skin beautifying energy and nursing ingredients.

Hengan International is a leading producer of personal-care products in China. Its business comprises tissue paper products (close to 60% of sales), sanitary napkins (26% of sales), disposable diapers (5% of sales), and others.

PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk is an Indonesian consumer goods company. The firm's offering is diverse, ranging from cosmetics and hygienic items (detergents, soaps, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, and deodorants), to food and beverages (tea, coffee, and packaged foods). Its product portfolio contains household brands such as Sunlight, Sunsilk, Wall's, Blue Band, Pepsodent, Lux, Lifebuoy, Dove, Clear, Rexona, Vaseline, Rinso, Molto, Royco, and Bango. The segments of the company are: Home and Personal Care segment, which relates to the cleaning products which are used in the household and cosmetic products; and Foods and Refreshment segment, which relates to the food and beverage products including ice cream. It derives maximum revenue from Home and Personal Care segment.

Rohto Pharmaceutical Co Ltd is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of health and beauty care products. The company operates through four reportable segments: Japan, America, Europe, and Asia. Each segment manufactures and sells products related to eye care (such as eye drops and eyewash), skin care (including dermatological medications, lip balm, sunscreen, and functional cosmetics), oral medication (such as gastrointestinal and herbal medicines, and supplements), and other products such as in-vitro diagnostic reagents. It generates the majority of its revenue from Japan.

Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Ltd is an Indian company engaged in the manufacturing and selling of feminine hygiene care and healthcare products. The portfolio includes brands like Ambi Pur, Head & Shoulders, Olay, Oral-B, Pampers, Pantene, Tide Ariel, Duracell, Gillette, Vicks, and Wella. The business is divided into a feminine hygiene business and a healthcare business. The feminine hygiene business offers sanitary napkins and feminine sanitary hygiene products; its popular brand is Whisper. The healthcare business offers creams, cough drops, and other health products. The company distributes its products through various channels: from retail locations such as mass merchandizers and grocery stores, to drug stores and department stores.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc is a multi-brand beauty company that offers inclusive, accessible, clean, vegan, and cruelty-free cosmetics and skin care products. The Company's mission is to make beauty accessible to every eye, lip, face, and skin concern. The company offers cosmetic accessories for women, which include eyeliner, mascara, false eyelashes, lipstick, foundation for the face, moisturizer, cleanser, and other tools through its stores and e-commerce channels.

Interparfums Inc operates in the fragrance business and produces and distributes a wide array of prestige fragrance and fragrance-related products. It sells its product under the brand which includes Boucheron, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Karl Lagerfeld, Kate Spade, Lacoste, Lanvin, Moncler, Montblanc, Rochas and Van Cleef & Arpels. The company operates in two operating segments namely European based operations, SA, and United States based operations.. The group sells its products to department stores, perfumeries, specialty stores, and domestic and international wholesalers and distributors.