Shares of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) were up 2% on Wednesday. The stock has gained 46% over the past three months. The beauty giant is slated to report its earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2025 on Wednesday, August 20, before market open. Here’s a look at what to expect from the earnings report:
Revenue
Analysts are projecting revenue of $3.4 billion for Estee Lauder in Q4 2025. This indicates a decline of over 12% from the same period a year ago. In the third quarter of 2025, net sales decreased 10% year-over-year to $3.6 billion.
Earnings per share
The consensus estimate for Q4 2025 earnings per share is $0.09. This implies a decrease of 86% from the prior-year quarter. In Q3 2025, adjusted EPS fell 33% YoY to $0.65.
Points to note
Estee Lauder has been facing a challenging environment with weakness in its global travel retail business and muted consumer sentiment in China. The company expects the headwind in its travel retail business to be bigger in the fourth quarter.
In Q3, EL’s travel retail business saw a 28% organic decline. The company anticipates a stronger double-digit sales decline in its global travel retail business in Q4 compared to Q3. This outlook reflects impacts from retailers shifting towards more profitable duty-free business models in Korea and mainland China, as well as weak consumer sentiment in China.
Outside travel retail, EL expects to see a moderation in its organic sales decline and an improvement in retail sales. The company has been seeing retail softness for some brands as well as a drop in consumer confidence in North America.
EL is expected to see benefits from its Profit Recovery and Growth Plan (PRGP), which has been helping in expanding gross margins and reducing operating costs.
