With a market cap of $30.2 billion, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) is a global leader in the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of premium skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. The company manages a diverse portfolio of luxury and prestige brands, including Estée Lauder, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Jo Malone London, and The Ordinary.
Companies valued at $10 billion or more are generally classified as “large-cap” stocks, and Estée Lauder fits this criterion perfectly. With products sold in approximately 150 countries and territories worldwide, Estée Lauder has established a strong presence in the global beauty and personal care industry.
Shares of the New York-based company have fallen 30.4% from its 52-week high of $121.64. Estée Lauder’s shares have decreased 8.7% over the past three months, lagging behind the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF’s (XLY) marginal gain over the same time frame.
EL stock is down 19.2% on a YTD basis, underperforming XLY’s 3.4% dip. However, in the longer term, shares of the beauty products company have risen 23.6% over the past 52 weeks, exceeding XLY’s 8.8% return over the same time frame.
Yet, the stock has been trading below its 200-day moving average since early March.
Shares of Estee Lauder rose 3.4% on May 1 after the company reported better-than-expected Q3 2026 sales of $3.71 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.88. Investors were also encouraged by management increasing its full-year adjusted EPS forecast to $2.35 - $2.45 from $2.05 - $2.25, alongside an expanded restructuring plan targeting 9,000 - 10,000 job cuts (up from 7,000) and up to $1.2 billion in cost savings.
Nevertheless, rival Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (CHD) has outperformed EL stock on a YTD basis, with CHD shares gaining 13.7%. Nevertheless, CHD stock has declined 3.8% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind EL stock.
Despite the stock’s outperformance over the past year, analysts remain cautiously optimistic on Estée Lauder. EL stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the 24 analysts in coverage, and the mean price target of $93.04 is a premium of 9.9% to current levels.
