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The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL)

Consumer Defensive Out of favour

Estée Lauder is a global beauty giant that owns a portfolio of high-end skincare, makeup, and fragrance brands sold in over 150 countries.

$83.90

Is The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Estée Lauder is a global beauty giant that owns a portfolio of high-end skincare, makeup, and fragrance brands sold in over 150 countries.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price-13.6%
Priced in USD - as a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, on top of the share price itself.
52-week range-3% past year
$83.90
Low $66.22High $121.64
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put $1,000 into The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
$864-14%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$30.35B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
3.33M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$83.13 – $84.76
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$66.22 – $121.64
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
1.7%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
1.26
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 1.26
Calm
Wild
Roughly in step with the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▼ -1% past week · ▼ -3% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Return to historical profit margin levels

The bear case

Long-term loss of relevance to younger shoppers

What does The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. do?

The company makes its money by selling premium beauty products under well-known names like Clinique, La Mer, and Jo Malone. While they have a strong reputation for quality, they are currently navigating a tricky period of falling profits and shifting consumer habits in key markets like China. Its fortunes hinge on whether the turnaround plan can rebuild profit margins and get sales growing steadily again.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and income, and weakest on growth.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 43Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 29Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 17Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 25Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 32
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Owns a powerful collection of globally recognised luxury brands
  • High gross margins suggest strong pricing power
  • Established presence in the resilient beauty and skincare industry
What to watch
  • Quality screens low (29/100)
  • Growth screens low (17/100)
  • Momentum screens low (25/100)
  • Changing consumer tastes could make older brands less popular
  • High sensitivity to global economic downturns affecting luxury spending

What do The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.'s numbers mean?

Forward P/E
25.5
This shows how much investors are currently willing to pay for each pound of expected future profit.
Gross margin
74.7%
This indicates that for every pound of product sold, the company keeps nearly 75 pence after accounting for the direct costs of making it.
Net margin
-1.7%
This negative figure shows that, after all business expenses are paid, the company is currently spending more than it is bringing in.
Dividend yield
1.7%
This is the annual income you would receive as a percentage of the share price, assuming the company keeps paying the same dividend.

How much money does The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$1.06B$2.11B$3.17B$4.23BQ1 25Q2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26
Gross margin
74.7%
Net margin
-1.7%
Return on equity
-5.9%

Does The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. pay a dividend?

Yes - The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 1.7% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

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Appears in
Everyday-essentials shares, explained

What are the scenarios for The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

$123$84$68today · $84▲ Bull · $90• Base · $84▼ Bear · $78in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Better than expected quarterly sales figures
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance in line with current guidance
Bear
-5% to -10%Continued weakness in the Asian luxury market

What are the pros and cons of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Owns a powerful collection of globally recognised luxury brands
  • High gross margins suggest strong pricing power
  • Established presence in the resilient beauty and skincare industry
The catch3
  • Currently struggling with negative net margins
  • Significant reliance on the volatile Chinese luxury market
  • Recent earnings growth has been sharply negative
Key risks3
  • Changing consumer tastes could make older brands less popular
  • High sensitivity to global economic downturns affecting luxury spending
  • Increased competition from smaller, agile independent beauty brands
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: pe · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.