Estée Lauder Shares Decline Amidst Weak Market Conditions
With a market cap of $23.9 billion, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) is a key player in the skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care sectors. Headquartered in New York, the company markets products under prestigious brands such as Estée Lauder, Clinique, Origins, M·A·C, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, La Mer, Aveda, Jo Malone London, TOM FORD, Too Faced, Dr. Jart+, and The Ordinary.
Recognized as a “large-cap” stock due to its valuation exceeding $10 billion, Estée Lauder stands out as one of the leading manufacturers and marketers of luxury cosmetic products. Its goods are available in approximately 150 countries and territories around the globe.
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In recent times, the beauty company’s stock has faced significant challenges, deteriorating by 57.3% from its 52-week high of $155.73. Over the last three months, Estée Lauder’s shares have slipped 16.9%, which is notably higher than the 3.1% decline of the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP).
Looking at the long-term performance, EL shares have decreased by 56.5% over the past 52 weeks, significantly lagging behind XLP’s 5.3% return during the same period. Year-to-date, Estée Lauder is down 11.3%, once again trailing XLP, which has gained 1.1%.
Furthermore, EL has remained below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since last year. These indicators typically signal weakness in a stock’s performance and could be contributing to investor hesitations.
Despite surpassing Wall Street expectations with Q2 2025 revenue of $4 billion and adjusted earnings of $0.62 per share, Estée Lauder’s stock plummeted by 16.1% after the announcement on February 4. A significant GAAP loss of $1.64 per share was mainly the result of $258 million in impairments and disappointing performance in critical markets, particularly in China and travel retail segments, where skincare sales dropped 12%. Management also indicated a dire outlook, forecasting a decline of 10% to 12% in Q3 sales along with a dramatic year-over-year drop of 69% in EPS, expecting figures between $0.24 and $0.34—far below analyst estimates.
The announcement of an extensive restructuring plan, which includes pre-tax charges ranging from $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion and the potential layoff of up to 7,000 employees, has added to investor concerns.
In contrast, e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (ELF) has also struggled but not as severely as Estée Lauder. ELF shares have fallen 65.9% over the past year and are down 45.7% year-to-date.
Due to Estée Lauder’s recent performance, analysts remain cautious. The stock currently holds a consensus rating of “Hold” from 28 analysts. As of the latest update, Estée Lauder is trading below the average price target of $76.68.
On the date of publication,
Sohini Mondal
did not hold positions in any securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article are for informational purposes only. For more details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy
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