Estée Lauder Q1 Earnings: China Uncertainty Hits Beauty Giant, Withdraws FY25 Outlook, Stock Tanks

Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. (NYSE:EL) shares are trading lower on Thursday.

The company reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of 14 cents, beating the street view of 9 cents. Quarterly sales of $3.36 billion (down 4%), missed the analyst consensus estimate of $3.371 billion.

Segmentally, the Skin Care unit sales slumped by 7%, Makeup fell by 2%, Fragrance decreased by 1%, and Hair Care dropped by 6%.

Organic net sales dropped 5% mainly due to declining consumer sentiment in China, leading to weaker prestige beauty sales and low conversion rates in Asia travel retail and Hong Kong SAR. Additionally, lower replenishment orders and inventory pressures from a slowing retail market further affected sales.

In the quarter under review, Estée Lauder reported a net loss of $156 million, ...