Estee Lauder downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

Citi downgraded Estee Lauder (EL) to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $80, down from $105. The firm says that even though the bar was very low, Estee’s fiscal Q1 results and guidance update were much worse than expected, with the removal of fiscal 2025 guidance, Q2 well below expectations, and a dividend cut. The analyst expects the stock to trade down significantly today and test historical lows. With China trends continuing to worsen and no clarity yet on the strategic changes under upcoming CEO Stephane de la Faverie, Citi has a lack of visibility on Estee’s sales and earnings.