Estée Lauder reports better-than-expected sales and China rebound

The American cosmetics group Estée Lauder beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter sales on Thursday, signaling early success in CEO Stéphane de La Faverie’s turnaround strategy. The company also reported a rebound in its key Chinese market, sending its shares up nearly 6% in premarket trading.

From July to September, revenue rose 3.6% year over year to $3.48 billion, above analysts’ forecasts of $3.38 billion, according to data compiled by FactSet. Net profit came in at $47 million, compared with the $52 million expected. Adjusted earnings per share stood at 13 cents, slightly below the 15 cents analysts had anticipated.

The owner of Clinique, M.A.C., La Mer, Le Labo and Tom Ford said sales in China rose 8.5% compared with the same quarter last year, helped by strong performance from its luxury skincare and fragrance labels. In a statement, the company said growth in mainland China was driven by “innovation and our existing products,” as well as “targeted customer expansion.”

Estée Lauder, which had warned in August of a potential $100 million tariff impact, has been optimizing its production footprint to bring manufacturing closer to consumers while cutting inventory and promotional activity to offset rising costs affecting the global retail industry.

The company also reiterated the details of a restructuring plan announced in February, with an expected cost of $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion before taxes and the reduction of 5,800 to 7,000 positions by the end of 2026.

“We started fiscal 2026 well, gaining market share in several key strategic areas and improving profitability,” de La Faverie said in the statement. “These results strengthen our confidence in our financial outlook for the 2026 fiscal year.”

For fiscal 2026, Estée Lauder continues to forecast a 2% to 5% increase in net profit per share. The company also warned that new trade tariffs could reduce future earnings by nearly $100 million, but said it is closely monitoring trade policy changes and implementing measures to mitigate potential impacts.

FashionNetwork.com with AFP and Reuters