Estée Lauder Q3 Fiscal 2024 Earnings Preview: Insights and Expectations

• The consensus price target for Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) has decreased from $102.67 to $85 over the past year, indicating a more cautious outlook from analysts.
• Despite the lower consensus price target, Bank of America Securities analyst Bryan Spillane has set an optimistic price target of $330, highlighting potential significant growth based on the company's strategic initiatives and strong earnings track record.
• Estée Lauder is anticipated to surpass earnings estimates in its upcoming report on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, with Bank of America forecasting a 4% annual revenue growth through fiscal 2027 and a 430 basis-point improvement in operating margin.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in the beauty and personal care industry, known for its high-quality skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company operates in a competitive market alongside other major players like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble. Estée Lauder has been focusing on expanding its digital presence and enhancing its e-commerce capabilities to adapt to the evolving retail landscape.

The consensus price target for Estée Lauder's stock has seen a notable shift over the past year. Currently, the average price target is $85, which has remained stable over the past month and quarter. However, a year ago, the average price target was significantly higher at $102.67. This decrease suggests a more cautious or bearish outlook from analysts, possibly due to market conditions or shifts in consumer behavior affecting the beauty industry.

Despite the lower consensus price target, some analysts remain optimistic about Estée Lauder's future performance. Bank of America Securities analyst Bryan Spillane has set a price target of $330 for the stock, indicating potential for significant growth. This optimism is supported by Estée Lauder's strong track record of surpassing earnings expectations and its strategic initiatives, such as the "Beauty Reimagined" turnaround plan.

Estée Lauder is set to report its earnings on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. This event is significant for investors, as the company is anticipated to surpass earnings estimates. Bank of America forecasts a 4% annual revenue growth for Estée Lauder through fiscal 2027, alongside a 430 basis-point improvement in operating margin, reaching 12%. These factors contribute to the positive outlook for the company's stock performance.

Investors and stakeholders should closely monitor Estée Lauder's upcoming earnings report and any strategic initiatives the company undertakes. These developments could influence future analyst assessments and price targets, providing valuable insights for those interested in the company's stock.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) is a global leader in the beauty industry, known for its high-quality skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company operates in over 150 countries and territories, with a diverse portfolio of brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, and MAC Cosmetics. As a major player in the beauty sector, Estée Lauder faces competition from other giants like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble.

On August 20, 2025, Estée Lauder is set to release its quarterly earnings, with Wall Street analysts estimating an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.08. This figure represents a significant decline of 87.5% from the same period last year, highlighting the company's current financial challenges. Despite this, the consensus EPS estimate has been revised upward by 3.5% over the past month, indicating a reassessment by analysts of their initial projections. Revenue for the quarter is projected to be approximately $3.4 billion, marking a 12.2% decrease year over year. This decline in revenue reflects the broader challenges faced by the company in the current market environment. 

The company's financial ratios provide additional insight into its current standing. With a price-to-sales ratio of about 2.21, investors are willing to pay $2.21 for every dollar of sales. The enterprise value to sales ratio stands at approximately 2.66, reflecting the company's total valuation relative to its sales. Additionally, the debt-to-equity ratio of about 2.16 suggests that Estée Lauder has more than twice as much debt as equity, indicating a high level of financial leverage.

Despite these challenges, Estée Lauder maintains a current ratio of approximately 1.41, indicating a reasonable level of liquidity to cover its short-term liabilities. The upcoming earnings report and conference call, hosted by President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie and CFO Akhil Shrivastava, will be closely watched by investors and analysts to gain insights into the company's future prospects and recent corporate developments.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in the beauty industry, known for its high-quality skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company operates in over 150 countries and territories, with a diverse portfolio of brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, and MAC Cosmetics. As a major player in the beauty sector, Estée Lauder faces competition from other industry giants like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble.

Estée Lauder is set to release its fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings on May 1, 2025, before the market opens. Analysts estimate the earnings per share (EPS) to be $0.30, with projected revenue of approximately $3.52 billion. This represents a significant decline, as the Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a 10.9% decrease in net sales compared to the same quarter last year, and a 69.1% drop in EPS from the previous year's quarter.

The anticipated decline in Estée Lauder's earnings and revenue is attributed to challenges in China, issues within travel retail, and rising expenses. Despite these hurdles, the company has previously delivered an average earnings surprise of 101.9% over the last four quarters. This track record suggests that Estée Lauder might surpass earnings estimates in its upcoming report, potentially leading to an upward movement in its stock price.

The price-to-sales ratio is about 1.41, suggesting investors are willing to pay $1.41 for every dollar of sales. Additionally, the debt-to-equity ratio is 2.25, showing that the company has more than twice as much debt as equity, which could impact its financial stability.

The earnings call, hosted by President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie and CFO Akhil Shrivastava, will provide insights into the company's results, future prospects, and recent corporate developments. The management's discussion will be crucial in determining the sustainability of any immediate price changes and future earnings expectations. Investors will be keenly watching for any positive surprises that could influence Estée Lauder's stock performance.

Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) is a global leader in the beauty industry, known for its high-quality skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company operates in over 150 countries and territories, with a diverse portfolio of brands including Estée Lauder, Clinique, and MAC Cosmetics. As a major player in the beauty sector, Estée Lauder faces competition from other industry giants like L'Oréal and Procter & Gamble.

Estée Lauder is set to release its fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings on May 1, 2025, before the market opens. Analysts estimate the earnings per share (EPS) to be $0.30, with projected revenue of approximately $3.52 billion. This represents a significant decline, as the Zacks Consensus Estimate indicates a 10.9% decrease in net sales compared to the same quarter last year, and a 69.1% drop in EPS from the previous year's quarter.

The anticipated decline in Estée Lauder's earnings and revenue is attributed to challenges in China, issues within travel retail, and rising expenses. Despite these hurdles, the company has previously delivered an average earnings surprise of 101.9% over the last four quarters. This track record suggests that Estée Lauder might surpass earnings estimates in its upcoming report, potentially leading to an upward movement in its stock price.

The price-to-sales ratio is about 1.41, suggesting investors are willing to pay $1.41 for every dollar of sales. Additionally, the debt-to-equity ratio is 2.25, showing that the company has more than twice as much debt as equity, which could impact its financial stability.

The earnings call, hosted by President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie and CFO Akhil Shrivastava, will provide insights into the company's results, future prospects, and recent corporate developments. The management's discussion will be crucial in determining the sustainability of any immediate price changes and future earnings expectations. Investors will be keenly watching for any positive surprises that could influence Estée Lauder's stock performance.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) saw its stock tumble over 7% in pre-market today after issuing a disappointing third-quarter outlook, overshadowing better-than-expected earnings for Q2 of fiscal 2025.

The cosmetics giant posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 for Q2, far exceeding analyst projections of $0.31. Revenue came in at $4 billion, slightly ahead of the anticipated $3.98 billion.

By region, North American sales dipped 1.5% to $1.22 billion, in line with expectations. EMEA revenue dropped 6% to $1.49 billion, while Asia Pacific sales declined 11% to $1.29 billion, narrowly topping the $1.27 billion consensus estimate.

Despite the solid Q2 performance, guidance for Q3 fell well short of expectations. The company projected EPS between $0.24 and $0.34, drastically below the $0.64 forecasted by analysts.

CEO Stéphane de La Faverie acknowledged the disappointing outlook, attributing the weakness primarily to sluggish retail sales in Asia's travel sector, which deteriorated further in Q2, particularly in Korea.

Looking ahead, the company expects the difficult retail conditions in Asia travel retail to persist, significantly weighing on organic net sales, despite the stabilization of in-trade inventory levels achieved in the first half of fiscal 2025.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) saw its stock tumble over 7% in pre-market today after issuing a disappointing third-quarter outlook, overshadowing better-than-expected earnings for Q2 of fiscal 2025.

The cosmetics giant posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.62 for Q2, far exceeding analyst projections of $0.31. Revenue came in at $4 billion, slightly ahead of the anticipated $3.98 billion.

By region, North American sales dipped 1.5% to $1.22 billion, in line with expectations. EMEA revenue dropped 6% to $1.49 billion, while Asia Pacific sales declined 11% to $1.29 billion, narrowly topping the $1.27 billion consensus estimate.

Despite the solid Q2 performance, guidance for Q3 fell well short of expectations. The company projected EPS between $0.24 and $0.34, drastically below the $0.64 forecasted by analysts.

CEO Stéphane de La Faverie acknowledged the disappointing outlook, attributing the weakness primarily to sluggish retail sales in Asia's travel sector, which deteriorated further in Q2, particularly in Korea.

Looking ahead, the company expects the difficult retail conditions in Asia travel retail to persist, significantly weighing on organic net sales, despite the stabilization of in-trade inventory levels achieved in the first half of fiscal 2025.

Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) shares fell more than 2% on Monday after the company announced that CEO Fabrizio Freda will retire at the end of fiscal year 2025, signaling a significant leadership transition for the global beauty company. Freda, who has led Estee Lauder for more than 16 years, informed the Board of his decision ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release.

Estee Lauder confirmed that it has made considerable progress in its succession planning, evaluating both internal and external candidates to replace Freda.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Estee Lauder reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 and net sales of $3.87 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.26 EPS on revenue of $3.81 billion. Despite ongoing slowdowns in key markets like mainland China, Asia travel retail, and North America, the company saw a 7% increase in sales compared to the prior-year period. Organic net sales rose by 8%, driven by growth across all product categories, particularly in Skin Care.

Looking ahead, Estee Lauder projected first-quarter adjusted EPS between $0.02 and $0.10, with reported and organic net sales expected to decline between 5% and 3%. For the full fiscal year, the company forecasted adjusted earnings of $2.75 to $2.95 per share, with reported and organic net sales ranging from a 1% decline to a 2% increase compared to the previous year.