Estée Lauder Lifts FY2027 Outlook After Q1 Net Sales Rise 6.7%

By Daniel Okafor

Estée Lauder grew net sales 6.7% year over year to $3.7 billion in its fiscal first quarter ended Sept. 30, and raised its fiscal 2027 outlook on the strength of that start.

The company now expects organic net sales growth of 4.0% to 5.5% for the full fiscal year, up from its prior forecast of 3% to 5%.

President and CEO Stéphane de La Faverie tied the raise directly to the quarter's momentum. "The energy and determination of our teams, combined with the strength of our brands and the progress of our transformation, give me greater confidence than ever in the opportunities that lie ahead," he said. "We are raising our fiscal 2027 outlook, reflecting both our strong start and our conviction in the future we are creating."

The company stayed measured in its earnings release. It credited "strong performance in the fiscal 2027 first quarter" while remaining "cautious amid ongoing geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty."

What drove the online growth?

Online was the standout. The company reported growth in Asia, where a new fulfillment center in China's Hainan province opened in July, and in its travel retail division.

"We delivered high-single-digit organic sales growth online [in Q1], driven by both established platform and expansion," de La Faverie told investors on the earnings call. "Encouragingly, online growth was also well balanced."

The balance showed up region by region:

• Asia Pacific online sales rose double digits.
• Each of the other three regions grew high-single digits.
• In the U.S. and China, online retail sales grew more than 2x faster than the industry, gaining share in the company's two biggest markets.

Marketplace expansion fed those numbers. Estée Lauder now operates 13 brands across 17 markets on Amazon and 15 brands across 11 markets on TikTok Shop. Its online sales span brand.com, retailer ecommerce sites and third-party platforms.

How does Shopify fit in?

Estée Lauder runs its ecommerce on Shopify and widened that footprint during the quarter. It fully deployed Shopify for M·A·C and Clinique on their U.S. and U.K. brand.com sites, and began the initial rollout for M·A·C freestanding stores in those two markets. New M·A·C physical stores also opened in the U.S. and U.K.

CFO Akhil Shrivastava credited the platform with "superior consumer experiences, greater speed, simpler processes and improved productivity."

He also named a second tool: Profound, an AI marketing platform the company partners with to track how its brands appear across AI platforms globally.

Estée Lauder sits at No. 42 in the Top 1000 Database of North America's largest online retailers, and at No. 310 in the AI Commerce Rankings from Digital Commerce 360 and ReFiBuy.

The raised outlook signals management's confidence that the Shopify rebuild and marketplace expansion can sustain growth even with geopolitical risks still on the books.