Beauty company APR posted its strongest quarterly results on record in the first quarter, driven by a surge in overseas business as K-beauty demand lifted its performance in the U.S. market, including a No. 1 ranking in Amazon’s U.S. beauty category.
APR said in a preliminary earnings filing on Wednesday that 2026 first-quarter consolidated revenue rose 123.0% from a year earlier to 593.4 billion won, while operating profit jumped 173.7% to 152.3 billion won. Both were the highest quarterly figures since the company’s founding.
Overseas sales led the gains. First-quarter international revenue climbed 179.9% to 528.1 billion won, topping 500 billion won for the first time. Overseas sales accounted for 89.0% of total revenue, up 18.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
The U.S. market posted the sharpest growth. U.S. first-quarter revenue surged 250.8% to 248.5 billion won, representing 41.9% of total sales.
U.S. market research firm Navigo Marketing said APR ranked first in Amazon’s U.S. beauty category in the first quarter with a 14.1% share. APR’s flagship brand, Medicube, is set to expand beyond Ulta Beauty, with placements planned at multiple major U.S. offline retail channels in stages within the year starting in the second quarter.
Outside the U.S., Japan revenue rose 100.8% to 58.9 billion won. Sales in other regions increased 216.1% to 190.0 billion won from 60.1 billion won a year earlier.
By business segment, cosmetics and beauty revenue climbed 174.3% to 452.6 billion won. Medicube’s PDRN product line surpassed 50 million units in cumulative global sales in February, and its toner pads sold more than 20 million units on a first-quarter basis. During Amazon’s Big Spring Sale in March, 10 Medicube products entered the beauty category’s top 100 best-seller list, the company said.
Beauty device revenue rose 46.0% to 132.7 billion won, also a record quarterly result.
APR said it plans to use its online momentum to accelerate offline distribution, aiming to reinforce a self-sustaining growth cycle. In the U.S., it expects additional major offline channel rollouts beyond Ulta Beauty beginning in the second quarter.
The company is also expanding in other markets. In March, it launched Medicube through Sephora’s online and offline channels across 17 European countries, including France and Germany, and signed a partnership with Nykaa, India’s largest beauty and lifestyle platform.
APR recently was named to Time magazine’s list of the “100 Most Influential Companies” in the world, the company said, calling it the only South Korean company on the list this year and the first K-beauty company to be included. Time’s website shows APR was selected in the “Titans” category, alongside companies including Nvidia, Google, SpaceX, Meta and Saudi Aramco.
“While pursuing sustained growth through entry into new markets and diversification of distribution channels, we will also actively launch new products that reflect customer and market trends to continue a quantum jump,” an APR official said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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