Why Estee Lauder (EL) Shares Are Getting Obliterated Today

What Happened?

Shares of beauty products company Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) fell 21.5% in the morning session after the company reported fourth-quarter results and provided a disappointing full-year profit forecast. 

While revenue grew 5.6% year on year to meet expectations and adjusted earnings per share of $0.89 beat estimates by 6.6%, investors focused on the future. Management's updated guidance for full-year adjusted earnings per share fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. This disappointing outlook overshadowed positive signs in the quarter, including a well-appreciated return to organic sales growth, which rose 4% after several quarters of decline. The weaker-than-expected profit forecast signaled potential challenges ahead, causing investors to sell off the stock despite the solid quarterly performance.

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What Is The Market Telling Us

Estée Lauder’s shares are quite volatile and have had 17 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Estée Lauder and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 8 months ago when the stock gained 7.9% on the news that the major indices rebounded (Nasdaq +1.5%, S&P 500 +1.0%) as reports pointed to easing tensions between Israel and Iran. The Wall Street Journal said senior Iranian officials had signaled a willingness to restart stalled nuclear talks, on the condition that Washington refrain from joining Israel's ongoing strikes. This development triggered a significant decline in oil prices, easing inflation concerns. Also, it is possible some investors were buying the dip following the sell-off at the end of the previous week.

Estée Lauder is down 13.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $92.26 per share, it is trading 22.9% below its 52-week high of $119.61 from February 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Estée Lauder’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $338.20.

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