May 1 (Reuters) – Estee Lauder on Friday forecast strong annual organic sales growth after beating quarterly estimates as CEO Stephane de La Faverie’s turnaround plan gains traction, sending its shares up 12% in premarket trading.
Estee’s focus on boosting premium launches, streamlining supply chain and ramping up innovation and marketing to strengthen growth under the “Beauty Reimagined” plan, helped it revive sales in key luxury markets, including China and Europe. The company, which is in talks to merge with Jean Paul Gaultier-owner Puig, now expects organic net sales growth of about 3%, at the high end of its prior range.
It, however, said that its current forecast was based on the assumption that there was no deterioration in the geopolitical landscape or related impacts, including tariffs and consumer sentiment, as well as business disruptions in the Middle East beyond May 2026.
Estee posted quarterly sales of $3.71 billion, compared with analysts’ estimates of $3.69 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
It also revised its job cut target to a range of 9,000 to 10,000 from the previously estimated range of 5,800 to 7,000.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
