Shares of Estee Lauder Cos. EL pulled back 5.0% in premarket trading Thursday, after closing the previous session at a 5 1/2-month high, after the beauty products company provided a full-year profit outlook that was below expectations. For the fiscal second quarter to Dec. 31, net income fell to $394 million, or $1.09 a share, from $1.09 billion, or $2.97 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted EPS of $1.54 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.29. Sales declined 16.6% to $4.62 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.58 billion, as skin care and makeup sales fell but fragrance and hair care sales increased. The company said business continued to be disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as it affected travel in Asia and retail traffic in China. A strong dollar, inflationary pressures and recession concerns also weighed on results. For fiscal 2023, the company expects adjusted EPS of $4.87 to $5.02, below the FactSet consensus of $5.44, and sales are expected to decline 7% to 5%, while the FactSet consensus of $16.77 billion implies a 5.5% decline. The stock has soared 47.8% over the past three months while the S&P 500 SPX has gained 9.6%.
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