According to multiple media reports, leading U.S. cosmetics company Estée Lauder (EL) has tapped longtime senior executive Stéphane de La Faverie to serve as its next CEO.
De la Faverie is currently the executive group president at Estée Lauder and will assume the helm of the New York City-based company when current CEO Fabrizio Freda retires in June 2025. De La Faverie has worked at Estée Lauder since 2011. He currently oversees about half of the beauty empire, including both cosmetics and fragrances.
While Freda is retiring in less than a year, he will remain as an advisor to Estée Lauder into 2026, the company has said previously. Freda announced his retirement this past August and Estée Lauder was reported to be on a wide-ranging search for his successor before choosing de La Faverie.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Jane Lauder, who was among the CEO candidates under consideration, will step down from her executive role with the company at the end of this year. In addition to being a longtime executive, Jane Lauder is a granddaughter of the company’s founder.
Tough Times at Estée Lauder
The CEO transition comes at a tumultuous time for Estée Lauder. The company’s business is struggling with declining consumer sales in China, its largest growth market, as well as soft demand in its home market of America.
Estée Lauder next reports financial results on October 31. Analysts are bracing for a poor performance after the company offered weak forward guidance for this year’s third quarter. The consensus view of analysts on Wall Street is for earnings per share of $0.09, which would be down from $0.11 a year ago.
EL stock has declined nearly 40% this year.
Is EL Stock a Buy?
Estée Lauder stock has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 25 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on eight Buy and 17 Hold recommendations assigned in the last three months. There are no Sell ratings on the stock. The average EL price target of $106.57 implies 21.34% upside from current levels.
