Estee Lauder Companies Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings: very strong

Estee Lauder Companies started its fiscal 2027 with sales up 7% to $3,715 million and operating profit more than doubling. Growth came mainly from fragrance and from better margins rather than from much higher volumes. The company raised its full-year forecasts for sales, margin and profit per share. Cash still flowed out in the quarter, though much less than a year ago. ¹

Against what analysts expected

The company's adjusted profit per share was $0.72, well above the $0.52 that analysts expected on average, according to Nasdaq's earnings calendar. ¹²

The strong points

Profit from running the business more than doubled to $408 million, far faster than sales grew. ¹
Fragrance was the standout, with sales up 19% and its operating profit nearly doubling. ¹
Gross margin, what is left of each sales dollar after the direct cost of the goods sold, widened to 75.7%. ¹

The weak points

The company still used more cash than it brought in, with free cash flow an outflow of $235 million. ¹
Part of the better cash result came from paying much less tax in cash, $29 million against $148 million a year ago. ¹
Growth was uneven: makeup sales rose only 1% once currency effects are removed, and hair care was flat. ¹

What the company expects

The company raised its full-year forecast for adjusted profit per share to $3.20 to $3.45, from $3.10 to $3.35, and lifted its margin forecast too. ¹
It also raised its full-year forecast for sales growth, excluding currency effects, to 4.0% to 5.5%, from 3% to 5%. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A very strong report. The company raised its forecasts for sales, margin and profit for the year, earned well above what analysts expected, and grew both sales and profit, with continuing cash outflow the main caveat.

The results as published

Notes

Estee Lauder Companies's results release, 2 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 2 November 2026. ↩

Estee Lauder Companies earnings: first quarter of fiscal 2027