Big Pharma has spent heavily on weight loss drugs, and made billions. Beauty companies haven't spent a dime -- but they could cash in too.
"Beauty and wellness are converging, and GLP-1s are accelerating both the shift and the spending opportunity," writes Jefferies analyst Sydney Wagner in a note Wednesday. "Our experts' research shows GLP-1 users spend 2 times more on beauty and 3.7 times more on wellness, as changes to their hair, skin, and bodies introduce new needs across categories."
UBS analyst AJ Rice notes that "consumer interest in GLP-1s has grown exponentially" over the past three years. His data show Google search trends for individual drugs up anywhere between 25% and 70% as of October.
That's been a huge boon for Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, the companies at the heart of the $190 billion "diabesity" market, a growing segment of the population using these weight-loss drugs to treat diabetes and obesity. But they might not be the only ones to benefit.
Almost half of women taking GLP-1s say they are more interested in beauty than they were a year ago, and nearly three-quarters had made a purchase because of changes to their hair, skin, or body, she notes. Nor are these small impulse buys: Thirty-eight percent spent more than $250 in the past three months, compared with 18% of nonusers.
GLP-1 use has quadrupled since 2024, but current patients only account for about 11% of U.S. adults. While that number is likely to grow-four in 10 Americans have taken or seriously considered taking them-Wagner notes that the opportunity for beauty stocks extends beyond users, citing research that found 70% of consumers said they were more focused on their health than a year ago.
Likewise, the boost from GLP-1 use can have legs, even after patients stop taking the medications. Separate research from Numerator found that grocery spending from households with lapsed GLP-1 users declined even faster than those with active users, with spending on fast food showing a similar pattern. If something similar were to happen with beauty purchases, it could be a long-lived trend.
Wagner thinks that Ulta Beauty could be a direct beneficiary of these increased purchases, given "its timely wellness push, assortment breadth, and education-led discovery are built for results-driven shoppers solving new concerns."
Barron's also recently highlighted Estée Lauder as finally turning a corner. Aside from the company's turnaround, it's getting a boost from makeup sales-which have largely lagged since the pandemic-starting to inflect higher.
Beauty stocks have been mixed in 2026, and any good news for the category is welcome: Discretionary stocks in general have lagged this year, with the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund in the red year to date, despite the S&P 500's gains.
Therefore, increased sales from GLP-1 users could be anything but superficial for cosmetic brands.
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