Estee Lauder CEO Fabrizio Freda to Retire, Company Reports Strong Q4 Earnings

Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) shares fell more than 2% on Monday after the company announced that CEO Fabrizio Freda will retire at the end of fiscal year 2025, signaling a significant leadership transition for the global beauty company. Freda, who has led Estee Lauder for more than 16 years, informed the Board of his decision ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release.

Estee Lauder confirmed that it has made considerable progress in its succession planning, evaluating both internal and external candidates to replace Freda.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Estee Lauder reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.64 and net sales of $3.87 billion, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.26 EPS on revenue of $3.81 billion. Despite ongoing slowdowns in key markets like mainland China, Asia travel retail, and North America, the company saw a 7% increase in sales compared to the prior-year period. Organic net sales rose by 8%, driven by growth across all product categories, particularly in Skin Care.

Looking ahead, Estee Lauder projected first-quarter adjusted EPS between $0.02 and $0.10, with reported and organic net sales expected to decline between 5% and 3%. For the full fiscal year, the company forecasted adjusted earnings of $2.75 to $2.95 per share, with reported and organic net sales ranging from a 1% decline to a 2% increase compared to the previous year.