Estée Lauder Companies shares rose about 13% in premarket trading Wednesday and extended gains to more than 16% during the session after fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations and the company raised its fiscal 2027 adjusted operating-margin outlook. The beauty products maker reported adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, above the 32-cent consensus estimate. Revenue increased 6% to $3.6 billion, while organic sales rose 5%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of organic growth. Full-year adjusted earnings per share climbed to $2.51 from $1.51 a year earlier, exceeding the $2.43 consensus. Net sales rose 5% to $15.1 billion, and full-year adjusted operating margin expanded by 320 basis points to 11.2%.
For fiscal 2027, Estée Lauder maintained its organic sales growth outlook at a 4% midpoint but raised the midpoint of its adjusted operating-margin guidance to 13.1% from 12.75%, with a range of 12.7% to 13.5%. The company expects adjusted earnings per share of $3.10 to $3.35, putting the midpoint above the $3.18 analyst estimate. Luxury fragrance brands Le Labo and Tom Ford drove a 10% increase in fourth-quarter net sales, supported by resilient spending among affluent and younger consumers. The Middle East conflict reduced fourth-quarter consolidated sales growth by 1 percentage point, while $38 million in tariff refunds partially offset a $102 million full-year gross tariff impact. The restructuring plan is expected to deliver about $1.2 billion in gross benefits and a net reduction of roughly 10,000 positions.
Broader equity market data also pointed to strength. S&P 500 second-quarter earnings are on pace to rise 50% year over year, the highest rate since 2021, according to FactSet. Bank of America strategists identified artificial intelligence as the main driver of the broad earnings growth. The S&P 500 rose 0.59% to 7,737, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 293 points, or 0.55%. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.2% as chip stocks pulled back, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF falling 2.9%. Analog Devices rose just under 1%. Target posted another earnings beat, keeping retail momentum intact, while Walmart results due Thursday are expected to provide another read on consumer spending.
In fixed income, the Treasury Department announced plans to double the size of its long-dated debt buyback operations. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF rose 1.6% to $82.95, putting it on pace for its best single day since October 10, 2025. The bond market lift helped support breadth even as chip names lagged. For crypto markets, strong earnings momentum, lower long-end yield pressure from Treasury buybacks, and broad equity gains may be viewed as a supportive risk appetite backdrop, although these developments are not crypto-specific.
