Estee Lauder Shares Drop As Annual Profit Forecast Misses Wall Street Estimates

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) saw its shares slide more than 4% on Wednesday after the cosmetics group issued an annual profit outlook below Wall Street expectations, citing persistent weakness in demand in the U.S. and China as well as tariff uncertainty.

The company said it anticipates around $100 million in profitability headwinds in fiscal 2026 despite mitigation efforts. Full-year adjusted EPS was guided in a range of $1.90 to $2.10, falling short of analyst forecasts of $2.21. Organic net sales were projected to grow between 0% and 3%.

For its fiscal fourth quarter, Estée Lauder reported EPS of $0.09, slightly above estimates by one cent. Revenue totaled $3.41 billion, marginally ahead of expectations of $3.39 billion. Organic net sales fell 13%, pressured by weaker demand in Skin Care and Makeup.

Net sales declined across all geographic regions, led by weakness in global travel retail and North America. “Despite continued volatility in the external environment, we embarked on fiscal 2026 with signs of momentum and confidence in our outlook to deliver organic sales growth this year after three years of declines and to begin rebuilding operating profitability,” said President and CEO Stephane de La Faverie.

By segment, Skin Care revenue fell 17%, Makeup declined 12%, Hair Care dropped 15%, while Fragrance rose 2%.