Finance
Estee Lauder forecasts profit below estimates, warns of $100 million tariff hit
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 20, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Estee Lauder predicts lower profits due to a $100 million tariff impact, affecting shares and financial outlook.
(Reuters) -Estee Lauder forecast annual profit below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday and warned of a $100 million tariff-hit in fiscal 2026, sending the cosmetic giant's shares down about 4% in early trading.
The Trump administration's unpredictable trade policies have put a strain on businesses that are grappling with higher costs and low demand.
To revive sales, Estee Lauder has been accelerating new launches in categories including skincare, introducing new luxury price tiers, increasing investments and implementing cost-savings measures, under new CEO Stephane de La Faverie, who took up the top job earlier this year.
In May, Estee Lauder said it was planning to reduce its sourcing in China from U.S. plants to below 10% by shifting production to Japan and Europe to counter over half of the expected hit from trade policies.
The company sources roughly 25% of its products sold in China and EMEA regions from U.S. plants.
Organic net sales for the fourth quarter fell 13%, compared with an 8% rise a year ago, primarily hurt by weakness in the skincare and makeup segments. The company has also seen pressure from persistent weakness in the U.S. and China markets.
Estee reported a wider quarterly loss of $546 million, up from $284 million a year ago, partly due to impairment charges tied to brand performance at Too Faced and skincare brand Dr.Jart+.
On an adjusted basis, it earned 9 cents per share, in line with estimates.
It sees full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.90 to $2.10, compared with analysts' estimates of $2.21, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Estee Lauder, which laid out restructuring plans in February, said on Wednesday it expects to take restructuring charges between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion, before taxes in 2026.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry and Anshi Sancheti in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Estee Lauder forecasts annual profit to be below Wall Street estimates, anticipating a $100 million tariff hit.
Organic net sales for the fourth quarter fell 13%, primarily due to weakness in the skincare and makeup segments.
The company expects to incur restructuring charges between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion before taxes in 2026.
To revive sales, Estee Lauder is accelerating new product launches, increasing investments, and implementing cost-saving measures.
Estee Lauder reported a quarterly loss of $546 million, up from $284 million a year ago, partly due to impairment charges.
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