The Estée Lauder Companies (EL) stock: Winston Score and insider trades

§Winston Score History

Estée Lauder is one of the world's largest makers of beauty products, including skincare, makeup, perfume, and hair care. It owns more than 20 brands — including Estée Lauder, Clinique, MAC, La Mer, and Jo Malone — and sells to everyday consumers through department stores, specialty retailers, and its own websites. The company competes in the global prestige beauty market, meaning it focuses on higher-priced products rather than drugstore brands.

Estée Lauder makes money by selling its products directly to consumers and through wholesale partnerships with retailers worldwide. It operates in over 150 countries, with a historically strong presence in Asia, particularly China, which has been both a major growth engine and a significant source of recent weakness as Chinese consumer spending slowed. The company's main moat is its portfolio of well-known brand names and its long relationships with premium retailers, but its negative return on invested capital signals that profitability has been under real pressure, and a recovery in the Chinese luxury beauty market is the key factor to watch.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+6.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

Reported EPS Growth

+78.8% YoY

Quarterly reporting periods ended:

30 Jun 2025: $-1.51

30 Jun 2026: $-0.32

Reported/statutory EPS, not adjusted or underlying earnings. One-off items can affect this figure. Provider rounding can affect the growth rate.

YoY Growth Rate

Reported EPS increased year over year

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

0.5%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$3.5B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

The Estée Lauder Companies is growing revenue at 6% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

−0.0% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 364.9M (2022) → 364.8M (2026)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

75.5%

Premium pricing power — 75.5% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

7.0%

Modest — 7.0% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

12.8%

Good — 12.8% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

+5.0%

Slow sales growth (+5.0% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

N/A

Data not available

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

3/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

974%

Turns 974% of profit into real cash

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

8.7%

Modest free cash flow (8.7%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

2.43

Heavy debt load (2.43)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

5.02x

Adequate interest coverage (5.0x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

213.1x

Expensive — P/E 213.1

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

+193.3

GROWING

Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (213.1 → 19.8)

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Dividends

Dividend

Dividend Yield

1.53%

Small dividend — 1.53% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record

Dividend Growth

+0.0%

Dividend flat

Payout Ratio

279%

no trend

Paying out more than the last 12 months of profit. The dividend is being funded from cash or borrowing, not this year’s earnings.

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The Estée Lauder Companies

§How the score breaks down

§Winston Score History

Politician Trades

Growth Profile

Share count broadly stable

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Quality

Growth

Cash Flow

Stability

Valuation

Dividends