Waldencast plcWALD

Waldencast plc, the London-based owner of Milk Makeup and Obagi Medical, just sold the latter to Bridgepoint in a deal expected to close in Q3 2026, according to a 6-K filed on 13 July 2026. The company’s 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2025 shows revenue of $272.1 million but a net loss of $229.7 million and diluted EPS of negative $2.01, a reminder that beauty brands can be high on aesthetic and low on arithmetic. (source: WALD 6-K (2026-07-13), https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840199/000184019926000070/wald6-k_agmannouncementx13.htm)

Milk Makeup, the millennial beauty brand that donates 1% of online sales to The Center in Los Angeles, is now the sole flagship asset after Obagi’s disposal. The company’s 20-F calls Milk Makeup’s future “long-term growth potential,” language that usually precedes a capital call rather than a profit inflection. The brand’s website and social feeds still glow with rainbow-coloured product imagery and pride-month messaging, but the balance sheet is a different palette: $30.4 million in cash at year-end 2025 against $246.1 million in liabilities, including $12.8 million of operating cash burn for the year. (source: SEC EDGAR 20-F, period ending 2025-12-31, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840199/000184019926000066/R2.htm)

The numbers are unambiguous. Revenue from contracts with customers totalled $272.1 million for 2025, while operating income was negative $217.5 million and net income attributable to the parent was negative $229.7 million. Diluted weighted average shares were 114.1 million, implying a headline loss of $2.01 per share. Cash and equivalents stood at $30.4 million, down from prior periods, and inventory was $54.6 million, up $867,000 year-on-year-hardly the lean inventory profile of a brand scaling efficiently. Property, plant and equipment additions were a modest $3.4 million, suggesting no imminent build-out of flagship stores or mega-warehouses. (source: SEC EDGAR 20-F, period ending 2025-12-31, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840199/000184019926000066/R2.htm)

For readers who like pictures, Milk Makeup’s product grid and brand landing page are available on the official site and carry the expected aesthetic: vibrant, inclusive, and millennial-coded. The images are undeniably on-brand, but they do not prove unit economics, cash conversion, or margin recovery. The site also hosts the 2026 AGM materials, which promise “long-term growth potential” for Milk Makeup while disclosing none of the quantitative assumptions behind that phrase. (source: Waldencast - Milk, https://www.waldencast.com/our-brands/milk/)

The company’s April 2026 6-K announced the conclusion of a US SEC investigation into certain matters, a procedural relief that removes one regulatory overhang but does not address the core operating deficits. The June 2026 6-K and press release formally disclosed the Obagi sale to Bridgepoint, framing the disposal as a strategic shift toward Milk Makeup’s growth runway. What remains unproven is whether Milk Makeup can achieve sustained profitability, positive operating cash flow, and inventory turns that justify a premium multiple-none of which are evident in the filed 20-F. Evidence that would materially change the file includes: a quarterly update post-Obagi sale detailing cash proceeds and allocation; a Milk Makeup gross margin bridge that explains how the brand will escape the negative operating-income regime; and any forward-looking disclosures that translate “long-term growth potential” into quantifiable KPIs rather than marketing copy. (source: WALD 6-K (2026-04-28), https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840199/000184019926000054/wald6-k_termofsecinvestiga.htm; WALD 6-K (2026-06-01), https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1840199/000184019926000061/wald6-k_1june2026.htm)