Estee Lauder Q3 EPS beats; ups FY view; raises job cut plan to up to 10,000

Estee Lauder Companies

01/05/2026 11:14

Overview

Beauty products maker's fiscal Q3 net sales slightly beat analyst expectations, up 5% yr/yr

Adjusted EPS for fiscal Q3 beat consensus, rising 40% yr/yr

Company expands restructuring plan to 9,000-10,000 job cuts, vs 5,800-7,000 earlier; also expects to take higher charges on plan and see bigger benefits

Outlook

Company raises fiscal 2026 organic net sales growth outlook to about 3%, high end of prior range

Estee Lauder sees fiscal 2026 adjusted operating margin of 10.7% to 11.0%

Company expects fiscal 2026 adjusted diluted EPS of $2.35 to $2.45

Result Drivers

FRAGRANCE GROWTH - Double-digit net sales growth in fragrance, led by luxury brands such as Le Labo, KILIAN PARIS, BALMAIN Beauty and TOM FORD, drove Q3 results

MAINLAND CHINA STRENGTH - Net sales in Mainland China grew high single digits, outpacing prestige beauty and supported by increased consumer-facing investments and new product launches

COST EFFICIENCY & PRGP - Adjusted gross and operating margin expansion was driven by the Profit Recovery and Growth Plan, which reduced non-consumer-facing expenses and improved cost leverage

Company press release: ID:nBwbnMvXpa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q3 Net Sales
Slight Beat*
$3.70 bln
$3.69 bln (15 Analysts)
Q3 Adjusted EPS
Beat
$0.91
$0.65 (18 Analysts)
Q3 EPS
$0.24


*Applies to a deviation of less than 1%; not applicable for per-share numbers.

Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 10 "strong buy" or "buy", 15 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the personal products peer group is "hold."

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Estee Lauder Companies Inc is $88.50, about 15.4% above its April 30 closing price of $76.71

The stock recently traded at 26 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 43 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)