On Friday, The Estée Lauder Companies posted its third-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2026. CEO and president Stéphane de La Faverie said 2026 was shaping up to be a “pivotal” year in the company’s turnaround plan, as ELC posted 5% net sales growth to $3.7 billion for the quarter.
Much of that growth came from fragrance, which saw net sales rise 10%. Hair care, skin care and makeup sales were largely flat, the company reported.
But while makeup as a whole was flat, growth was staggered across brands. At Too Faced, the colorful makeup brand ELC purchased in 2016 for an estimated $1.45 billion and announced as up for sale in January, sales dropped double digits in Q3 2026. However, the Estée Lauder brand saw double-digit growth during that same period, driven by its relaunch of Double Wear foundation. According to de La Faverie, MAC was the No. 1 lip brand when it launched at Sephora U.S. stores in March.
As part of a streamlining of operations, de La Faverie said the company will reduce its brands’ footprint in department stores while it focuses on new channels, particularly online channels like Amazon and TikTok Shop. The Bobbi Brown brand will reportedly exit from all U.S. department stores. While sales in the Americas were flat overall, online sales in the U.S. grew by high single digits.
“This was a decision we did not take lightly, as it will impact beauty advisors globally as we evolve our business to better align with consumer shopping preferences,” said de La Faverie.
“We had to pivot, and we are pivoting very fast where we are distributing our brands in the market,” he added. “Now we have 12 brands on Amazon in the U.S. performing extremely well. We have the launch of MAC Sephora that is only four weeks old in the quarter.”
ELC is investing in online channels, including in Mainland China, where sales increased 11% on a reported basis. The company launched The Ordinary on Douyin, and the Estée Lauder brand and MAC on Vip.com.
ELC declined to comment on its potential merger with Puig in Friday’s earnings call. On Tuesday, Puig reported 4.7% like-for-like growth in Q1 net revenue to €1.215 billion ($1.4 billion).
