Beauty products company Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 4.6% year on year to $3.71 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.88 per share was 35.8% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Estée Lauder (EL) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $3.71 billion vs analyst estimates of $3.70 billion (4.6% year-on-year growth, in line)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.88 vs analyst estimates of $0.65 (35.8% beat)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $450 million vs analyst estimates of $620.8 million (12.1% margin, 27.5% miss)
- Management raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $2.40 at the midpoint, a 11.6% increase
- Operating Margin: 6.7%, down from 8.6% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 8.4%, up from 4.6% in the same quarter last year
- Organic Revenue rose 2% year on year (beat)
- Market Capitalization: $27.75 billion
“Our third quarter results extend strong year-to-date performance, driven by Beauty Reimagined,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, President and CEO.
Company Overview
Named after its founder, who was an entrepreneurial woman from New York with a passion for skincare, Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) is a one-stop beauty shop with products in skincare, fragrance, makeup, sun protection, and men’s grooming.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but the best consistently grow over the long haul.
With $14.83 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Estée Lauder is one of the larger consumer staples companies and benefits from a well-known brand that influences purchasing decisions. However, its scale is a double-edged sword because there are only so many big store chains to sell into, making it harder to find incremental growth. For Estée Lauder to boost its sales, it likely needs to adjust its prices, launch new offerings, or lean into foreign markets.
As you can see below, Estée Lauder struggled to generate demand over the last three years. Its sales dropped by 2.2% annually, a poor baseline for our analysis.
This quarter, Estée Lauder grew its revenue by 4.6% year on year, and its $3.71 billion of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 3.8% over the next 12 months. While this projection suggests its newer products will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.
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Organic Revenue Growth
When analyzing revenue growth, we care most about organic revenue growth. This metric captures a business’s performance excluding one-time events such as mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures as well as foreign currency fluctuations.
Estée Lauder’s demand has been falling over the last eight quarters, and on average, its organic sales have declined by 2% year on year. 
In the latest quarter, Estée Lauder’s organic sales rose by 2% year on year. This growth was a well-appreciated turnaround from its historical levels, showing the business is regaining momentum.
Key Takeaways from Estée Lauder’s Q1 Results
It was good to see Estée Lauder beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. We were also glad its full-year EPS guidance exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its adjusted operating income missed and its EBITDA fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed quarter. The stock traded up 11.5% to $85.51 immediately after reporting.
Big picture, is Estée Lauder a buy here and now? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
