L'Oreal stock pops 9% after 'impressive' earnings, on track for biggest gain in 18 years

l'oreal shares jumped 9% on thursday, on track for their biggest single-day gain since november 2008. the stock popped as much as 10% after the cosmetics company reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations. organic sales rose 7.6% to 12.2 billion euros ($14.3 billion), well above analyst forecasts of around 3-4%. stripping out one-off items, growth was 6.7%. ceo nicolas hieronimus said the company "not only outperformed a beauty market that remains dynamic but accelerated our market share gains around the world." barclays analysts called the underlying growth "very impressive." the company saw growth across all divisions, with professional products — its smallest unit — leading at 13.1% like-for-like. hieronimus noted a continued recovery in the us and china, saying l'oreal outpaced the market in both. the results come as consumer goods rivals like unilever pivot toward beauty, and as l'oreal last month completed its €4 billion acquisition of kering beauté.