TL;DR
Get beauty and skincare favorites delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
Estée Lauder Companies raised its fiscal 2027 organic sales growth outlook to 4%–5.5% after first-quarter net sales increased 7% to $3.7 billion. Fragrance was the strongest reported growth driver, with organic sales up 20%; skin care also grew, while make-up posted a smaller increase and hair care was flat.
Estée Lauder Companies raised its fiscal 2027 outlook after first-quarter net sales increased 7% to $3.7 billion, with the company identifying fragrance as a major source of growth. The beauty group now expects 4%–5.5% organic sales growth for the year, up from its previous range of 3%–5%.
The company reported 20% organic growth in fragrance for the quarter. Le Labo and Kilian Paris each recorded double-digit sales growth, according to the company. Estée Lauder said Kilian’s The Cocktails collection, launched in August, supported its performance. Chief Executive Stéphane de La Faverie also said the company’s fragrance retail sales in Western Europe outpaced the wider industry by four times; the source report does not specify the precise measurement used for that comparison.
Performance across other categories was mixed. Skin care organic sales rose 4% to $1.651 billion, with the company pointing to products from La Mer and The Ordinary. Make-up grew 1%, marking its second consecutive quarter of organic sales growth. MAC Cosmetics and Tom Ford recorded double-digit growth, while the Estée Lauder brand’s sales declined. The company attributed that decline to lower face-category sales and the timing of fiscal 2027 product launches, partly offset by sales of the next-generation Double Wear foundation.
Hair-care sales were flat: growth at The Ordinary was offset by a decline at Aveda. Estée Lauder also said MAC’s U.S. sales on TikTok Shop had doubled since the brand launched on the platform. That figure describes sales on the platform, not the brand’s total U.S. sales.
Fragrance Leads the Forecast Upgrade
The higher outlook signals that Estée Lauder expects its first-quarter momentum to carry into the rest of fiscal 2027. Fragrance is especially important to the revision: the category’s reported 20% organic growth substantially exceeded the gains reported in skin care and make-up. The results also show that improvement is not uniform across the company’s portfolio, with the namesake Estée Lauder brand declining and hair care flat.
For investors, suppliers and retail partners, the forecast change offers a revised company view of expected annual sales growth, rather than a guarantee of results. The breadth and durability of growth remain relevant: management is looking to extend approaches used by brands such as MAC and The Ordinary across the wider portfolio. The quarter provides evidence of growth in some categories, but the reported figures alone do not establish whether that performance will persist.
Products Worth Considering
Fitbit Inspire 3 Health and Fitness Tracker Bundle
Fitbit Sense 2 Smartwatch – Blue Mist / Pale Gold
Levoit Vital 100S-P Air Purifier with Washable Pre-Filter
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Turnaround Strategy Across the Portfolio
The company said its growth reflects progress under Beauty Reimagined, a strategy launched under de La Faverie to restore sales growth and improve profit margins. The plan includes drawing on better-performing brands and applying their approaches elsewhere. De La Faverie said the strategy’s impact was becoming increasingly evident, a management assessment rather than an independently verified measure.
In remarks reported from the November 2 financial results webcast, de La Faverie pointed to The Ordinary and MAC as brands gaining both volume and value. He said Estée Lauder wants to use their playbook at the entry level of prestige beauty across brands including Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Estée Lauder. The company’s latest results show why that effort matters: growth differed considerably by brand and category, even as total quarterly sales rose.
“We feel very good about the long-term opportunities in fragrances.”
— Stéphane de La Faverie, Estée Lauder Companies president and CEO
Forecast Assumptions and Brand Gaps
The source report does not provide the company’s full earnings release, the detailed assumptions behind the revised forecast, or its outlook for operating profit and margins. It is also unclear how much of the fragrance increase came from price, sales volume, product launches or other factors. The report’s Western Europe comparison does not define the sales measure or period used for the claim that fragrance retail sales outpaced the industry by four times.
The next quarters will show whether fragrance growth can be sustained and whether the company can extend gains to brands that have lagged. The latest figures do not establish that Estée Lauder’s own-brand sales decline or Aveda’s weakness has reversed. The full impact of the Beauty Reimagined strategy on margins is also not quantified in the supplied material.
Next Results Will Test Momentum
Investors and other readers will be able to compare subsequent quarterly results with the raised 4%–5.5% organic growth forecast. Those updates should help establish whether fragrance remains a leading growth source and whether skin care and make-up continue to expand. The company’s progress in the namesake Estée Lauder brand and Aveda will also be relevant to judging whether improvement is spreading beyond its stronger labels.
Management has said it intends to adapt approaches from MAC and The Ordinary for Bobbi Brown, Clinique and Estée Lauder. The source material does not give a specific timetable or numerical targets for that work. Further financial disclosures will be needed to assess the strategy’s effect on profitability as well as sales.
Key Questions
Why did Estée Lauder raise its fiscal 2027 outlook?
The company raised its forecast after first-quarter net sales rose 7% to $3.7 billion. It cited strong fragrance performance among the drivers of the results.
What is Estée Lauder’s new fiscal 2027 growth forecast?
Estée Lauder now expects 4%–5.5% organic sales growth for fiscal 2027, compared with its previous range of 3%–5%.
Which category grew fastest in the quarter?
Fragrance had the highest reported organic growth, up 20%. Skin care grew 4%, make-up grew 1%, and hair-care sales were flat.
Did every Estée Lauder brand grow?
No. Le Labo and Kilian Paris had double-digit growth, and MAC Cosmetics and Tom Ford also recorded double-digit growth. The Estée Lauder brand declined, while hair-care growth at The Ordinary was offset by a decline at Aveda.
What remains uncertain about the raised outlook?
The supplied report does not detail the assumptions behind the forecast or quantify how much of fragrance growth came from volume, pricing or launches. Future results will show whether the gains continue and spread to weaker-performing brands.
Source: cosmeticsbusiness.com
