The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL)

FairStock Score: 28/100 — RISKY

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

As a Buffett-and-Graham style investor, I begin with what the filed numbers prove. Estée Lauder sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care worldwide. In fiscal 2026 (the year ended 2026-06-30), revenue was $15.0B and net income was $182M, or $0.50 per diluted share—better than fiscal 2025's $1.1B loss and -$3.15 EPS, but still far below fiscal 2024's $409M net income and $1.08 EPS. The recovery is real but thin. Quarterly filed figures are uneven: fiscal Q1 2026 net income was $47M, fiscal Q2 2026 was $162M, and fiscal Q3 2026 was $89M, down from $159M in fiscal Q3 2025. FairStock's Lynch category is TURNAROUND because it returned to profit after a loss within the last three years. The business generates trailing-twelve-month free cash flow of $1.3B, a 3.3% FCF yield, but returns are weak: ROE 4.75% and ROCE 5.23%. Debt is high with D/E 2.43. At the 2026-10-26 close of $108.82, FairStock calculates P/E 217.64, P/B 10.34, EV/EBITDA 27.60, Graham Number $10.88, and margin of safety -898.81%; the FairStock score is 28/100, Piotroski is 3/9, and Altman Z-score is 2.61. The brand franchise may have value, but the numbers do not yet show a durable moat or dependable earning power. The price already assumes a strong turnaround, so I would demand much clearer profit recovery and lower leverage before calling it a Graham-style bargain.

In plain English: Estée Lauder makes and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance, and hair care around the world. The business is recovering—fiscal 2026 revenue was $15.0B and net income was $182M after a big loss in fiscal 2025—but profits are still thin and debt is high. At the 2026-10-26 close of $108.82, the price looks expensive compared with current profit and accounting value.

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Data as of 2026-10-26 close · note generated 2026-10-28 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q3 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-03-31) · fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2025-12-31) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2025-09-30) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-03-31) · FY2026 10-K (period ended 2026-06-30) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2025-06-30) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2024-06-30)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer