Herbalife Ltd.

What does Herbalife own?
Herbalife owns a single primary brand with 144 product types across weight management, targeted nutrition, energy sports and fitness, and outer nutrition categories. In 2025, the company expanded its portfolio through acquisitions of Pro2col, Link BioSciences, Pruvit, and Bioniq, building a personalization ecosystem. Its best-selling product is the Formula 1 Nutritional Shake Mix, which accounts for approximately 25% of net sales.

Is Herbalife publicly traded?
Yes, Herbalife Ltd. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HLF. The company has been listed since 2004, when it completed its IPO after a period as a private company. As of February 2026, there were approximately 103.4 million common shares outstanding.

Who founded Herbalife?
Mark Hughes founded Herbalife in 1980 in Los Angeles, California. Hughes was 24 years old at the time and started the company after his mother's struggles with unhealthy weight loss methods. He led the company until his death in 2000 at age 44. Hughes built the business through a direct sales model that recruited independent distributors to sell nutrition products.

Where is Herbalife headquartered?
Herbalife maintains its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, California, USA. The company is legally organized as a Cayman Islands exempted holding company, with principal operations conducted through U.S. subsidiaries including Herbalife International of America, Inc. Manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, China, and India.

How many brands does Herbalife own?
Herbalife operates primarily as a single-brand company, selling products under the Herbalife name and sub-brands like Herbalife24 and Herbalife SKIN. The company has 144 product types sold in 95 markets. In 2025, Herbalife began acquiring additional brands including Pro2col, Link BioSciences, Pruvit, and Bioniq to build a multi-brand personalization platform.

Who owns Herbalife?
Herbalife is owned by its public shareholders, with institutional investors holding significant stakes. Major institutional holders have included Icahn Capital LP, Vanguard Group, and BlackRock, according to SEC 13F filings. The company does not have a dual-class share structure, so all common shares carry equal voting rights. The board is chaired by Michael O. Johnson, with Stephan Gratziani serving as CEO.

What is Herbalife's revenue?
Herbalife reported $5.0 billion in net sales for FY2025, a 0.9% increase from FY2024. On a constant currency basis, net sales increased 2.5% year-over-year. The company reported adjusted EBITDA of $657.6 million for FY2025, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.1%. For Q1 2026, net sales were $1.3 billion, up 7.8% year-over-year.

Is Herbalife involved in any legal or regulatory proceedings?
Herbalife is permanently subject to a 2016 FTC consent order requiring restructured compensation practices and 80% retail sales verification. The company has settled multiple class action lawsuits, including a $32.5 million settlement in 2020. The FTC settlement required $200 million in consumer redress, and checks were sent to nearly 350,000 affected distributors. Herbalife remains under independent monitoring for FTC compliance.

Mark Hughes founded Herbalife in Los Angeles in 1980 at the age of 24. Hughes had watched his mother struggle with unhealthy weight loss practices and wanted to create a nutrition company that offered a safer alternative. He started selling the Formula 1 protein shake from the trunk of his car, using a direct sales model that allowed individuals to earn income as distributors.

The company grew rapidly through the 1980s. By 1985, Herbalife had reached $100 million in annual revenue and expanded into Canada, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. The direct sales model proved effective in markets where traditional retail infrastructure was limited, and distributor recruitment fueled both sales volume and geographic expansion.

Herbalife went public on the NASDAQ in 1986, raising capital for further international growth. By the early 1990s, the company operated in over 20 countries. Hughes led the company until his death in 2000 at age 44. His death created a leadership vacuum and triggered a period of uncertainty for the company.

In 2002, Whitney Vanes and his investment partners acquired Herbalife for approximately $685 million through a leveraged buyout, taking the company private. The new owners restructured operations and improved compliance standards. Two private equity firms, Golden Gate Capital and J.H. Whitney, acquired stakes in 2004.

Herbalife returned to the public markets in 2004 with an IPO on the NYSE, raising approximately $280 million. The company also moved its corporate domicile to the Cayman Islands, a structure it maintains today. The re-listing gave Herbalife access to public capital markets and enabled aggressive international expansion, particularly into Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Between 2004 and 2012, Herbalife grew its revenue from approximately $1.3 billion to over $4 billion. The company expanded its product line beyond weight management into targeted nutrition, energy, and sports products. It also invested in manufacturing infrastructure, acquiring facilities in the United States and China to control quality and supply chain.

The period from 2012 to 2016 marked the most turbulent chapter in Herbalife's history. Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management publicly accused Herbalife of operating a pyramid scheme in December 2012, shorting $1 billion of the company's stock. Ackman argued that the company's compensation structure rewarded distributors for recruiting new members rather than for selling products to retail customers. Carl Icahn took the opposite position, acquiring a large stake and publicly defending the company. The battle between Ackman and Icahn became one of the most publicized Wall Street feuds of the decade.

The Federal Trade Commission opened an investigation into Herbalife in 2014. In July 2016, the FTC announced a settlement requiring Herbalife to pay $200 million for consumer redress and fundamentally restructure its U.S. business operations. The settlement mandated that at least 80% of Herbalife's product sales must be to legitimate end-users, and at least two-thirds of distributor rewards must be based on verified retail sales rather than recruitment. The FTC did not formally label Herbalife a pyramid scheme, but the consent order imposed permanent restrictions on the company's compensation practices.

After the FTC settlement, Herbalife restructured its U.S. operations to comply with the order. The company introduced a new preferred customer program and implemented retail sales tracking systems. Between 2016 and 2020, revenue fluctuated between $4.4 billion and $4.9 billion as the company adjusted to the new compliance requirements.

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 created a surge in demand for health and wellness products. Herbalife reported record revenue of $5.5 billion in 2021, its highest annual figure. The company benefited from increased consumer interest in immunity, weight management, and at-home fitness products. Revenue subsequently normalized to between $4.9 billion and $5.0 billion from 2022 through 2025.

Michael O. Johnson served as CEO from 2003 to 2017 and returned as interim CEO in 2019 after Rich Goudis departed. Johnson became Executive Chairman in May 2025 when Stephan Gratziani was appointed CEO. Gratziani had been a top distributor and President of the company before taking the top role.

In 2025 and early 2026, Herbalife made several acquisitions to build what it calls a personalization ecosystem. The company acquired Pro2col, Link BioSciences, Pruvit, and Bioniq, spending undisclosed sums on each. In February 2026, Cristiano Ronaldo invested $7.5 million for a 10% equity interest in Pro2col Software, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Herbalife. The company also completed a $1.45 billion senior secured debt refinancing in April 2026, reducing interest expense and extending its maturity profile.

Herbalife publishes an annual Global Sustainability Report. The company's headline commitments include reducing greenhouse gas emissions across its operations, increasing recyclable packaging, and expanding access to nutrition education through the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation.

On climate, Herbalife has set science-based targets for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The company reports its environmental data through CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project). Its manufacturing facilities in the United States, China, and India have implemented energy efficiency programs and waste reduction initiatives.

The Herbalife Nutrition Foundation, established in 2007, supports nutrition education and access programs globally. The foundation partners with organizations including SOS Children's Villages and the National Hispanic Council on Aging. In 2025, the foundation reported distributing over $5 million in grants.

Herbalife is not a Certified B Corporation. The company has not sought B Corp certification. Its sustainability claims are self-reported in its annual sustainability report and have not been independently verified by third-party certifying bodies.

On supply chain ethics, Herbalife sources botanical ingredients from global suppliers and has implemented supplier qualification programs. The company is a member of the Responsible Nutrition Association in several markets. However, the company does not hold Fair Trade certification for its ingredient sourcing and does not publish a comprehensive list of its raw material suppliers.

Herbalife has received recognition for its workplace culture and sustainability efforts. The company was named to Forbes' list of America's Best Midsize Employers in 2022. Great Place to Work has certified Herbalife in multiple countries, including Mexico, India, and several European markets.

The company's products have received awards from industry publications. The Herbalife24 CR7 Drive product won the Best Sports Nutrition Product award at the NutraIngredients Awards in 2019. Formula 1 has been recognized as the world's number one meal replacement shake by Euromonitor International based on retail value sales.

Herbalife's distributor training programs have received recognition from the Direct Selling Association. The company is a member of the Direct Selling Association and adheres to its code of ethics, though the DSA is an industry trade group rather than an independent certifying body.

Herbalife's business model has been the subject of sustained regulatory and public scrutiny. The most significant action was the 2016 Federal Trade Commission settlement. In July 2016, the FTC announced that Herbalife agreed to pay $200 million for consumer redress and fundamentally restructure its U.S. business operations. The FTC's complaint charged that Herbalife deceived consumers into believing they could earn substantial money selling diet, nutritional supplement, and personal care products. The settlement required Herbalife to ensure that at least 80% of product sales are to legitimate end-users and that at least two-thirds of distributor rewards are based on verified retail sales. The FTC sent checks to nearly 350,000 affected distributors. Herbalife did not admit wrongdoing but agreed to permanent injunctions governing its compensation structure. The company remains subject to an independent monitor overseeing compliance with the FTC order.

The Bill Ackman short campaign, launched in December 2012, was one of the most aggressive activist campaigns against a public company. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management invested approximately $50 million in research and legal fees to argue that Herbalife was a pyramid scheme. Ackman covered his short position in 2018, reportedly taking losses of approximately $1 billion. Carl Icahn, who took a long position opposing Ackman, profited significantly from the trade.

Herbalife has faced regulatory action outside the United States as well. In 2014, the company paid $3.1 million to settle a class action lawsuit in California alleging misleading income claims. In Belgium, a court ruled in 2011 that Herbalife's business model violated consumer protection laws, though the ruling was overturned on appeal in 2013. In China, Herbalife operates under a direct selling license system regulated by the Ministry of Commerce, which restricts the company's ability to use its standard multi-level compensation model.

The company has also faced criticism over product safety. In 2008, the FDA sent a warning letter to Herbalife regarding lead content in some of its products. Herbalife responded by implementing additional testing protocols. In 2014, a study published in the Journal of Hepatology linked Herbalife products to liver injury in a small number of cases. Herbalife disputed the study's methodology and noted that millions of consumers used its products without adverse effects.

In 2020, Herbalife agreed to pay $32.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging that the company made false and misleading statements about its business practices between 2013 and 2016, which artificially inflated the stock price. The company did not admit liability.