Estee Lauder Companies (EL) FY2026 results: revenue $15.0 billion, up 5.0% on the year

Estée Lauder makes, markets and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products under more than 20 luxury and prestige brands. It was founded in 1946 by Estée and Joseph Lauder and now reaches approximately 150 countries and territories. The financial year ends on 30 June. It operates mainly as a wholesaler, selling into department stores, duty-free retailers, specialty-multi retailers, online pure players, perfumeries, pharmacies, salons and spas, and it also sells direct to consumers through its own stores, its brands' websites and third-party online platforms. The Lauder family has controlled the company since it was founded; family members held shares carrying approximately 82 percent of the voting power as at 12 August 2026.

The products

Skin care covers moisturisers, serums, cleansers, toners, eye and body care, exfoliators, acne and oil correctors, facial masks and sun care. Makeup covers foundations, powders, concealers, setting sprays, lipsticks, lip liners and glosses, mascaras, eyeshadows and eyeliners, along with compacts, brushes and other tools. Fragrance is sold as parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and body spray, and as lotions, creams, powders, candles and soaps built on a particular scent. Hair care is the fourth category.

Some of the brands

Lab Series, introduced in 1987, is specialised skin care for men. Origins, introduced in 1990, is known for naturally derived skin and body care and holds a licence to use the name of Dr. Andrew Weil. M·A·C, created in Toronto, was majority-acquired in 1994 and fully acquired in 1998, and the filing calls it the leading prestige makeup brand globally, grown by word of mouth among professional makeup artists, models, photographers and journalists. Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, acquired in 1995, sells undertone-correct makeup and skin care.

Where it sells

Four geographic regions took effect on 1 July 2025 after a reorganisation: the Americas, covering North and Latin America; Europe, the United Kingdom and Ireland and Emerging Markets, which takes the old Europe, Middle East and Africa region, adds the Southeast Asian emerging markets of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, and hands the global travel retail business to Asia/Pacific; Asia/Pacific, including Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Australia along with global travel retail; and mainland China, now reported on its own. The company continues to develop its strategy, assess performance and allocate resources by product category. Online selling runs through the brands' own sites, authorised retailers' sites and third-party platforms, with most online sales made in mainland China, the United States and the United Kingdom. At 30 June 2026 the company operated approximately 1,600 freestanding stores, after closing stores in unproductive areas and opening others during the year; most trade under a single brand such as M·A·C, Jo Malone London or Le Labo, and approximately 300 are multi-branded company stores, mainly in outlet malls. Dedicated sales teams manage the retail accounts, there are wholly owned operations in over 50 countries, and in some countries the products go through selected distributors.

Beauty Reimagined and One ELC

In February 2025 the company set out a strategy it calls Beauty Reimagined, aimed at consumer coverage, product development, consumer-facing investment, efficiencies and changing how it works. The operating model that came with it, One ELC, has three parts: One Team, meaning fewer layers and silos with clearer ownership, One Culture, and One Operating Ecosystem, meaning shared platforms, data and strategic partners used across brands, regions and functions.

Making the products

Manufacturing is primarily in the company's own plants in Belgium, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, supported by outside manufacturing networks; the filing describes the plants as modern and the processes as substantially automated, and says the network is sufficient for current and reasonably anticipated requirements though short-term capacity for particular subcategories can be stretched. The principal raw materials are essential oils, alcohols and specialty chemicals, with packaging components made to the company's own designs, bought globally through a Global Supplier Management function, with sourcing kept within the region of manufacture where possible. Research and development cost $278 million in fiscal 2026 against $316 million in fiscal 2025, and approximately 1,000 employees worked in it at the year end.

From Estée Lauder's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended 30 June 2026. The filing

Written from the 10-K filed 19 August 2026: read the full 10-K.