: Estee Lauder stock tumbles toward a 6-year low after downbeat outlook offsets a surprise first-quarter profit

Shares of Estee Lauder Companies EL tumbled 12.3% toward a six-year low beauty products company reported a surprise fiscal first-quarter profit but provided a second-quarter outlook that was well below expectations. The company reported net income for the quarter to Sept. 30 that fell to $31 million, or 9 cents a share, from $489 million, or $1.35 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 11 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 21 cents. Sales fell 10.5% to $3.52 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.53 billion, amid pressures in the Asia travel retail business and a slower-than-expected recovery of prestige beauty demand in China. For the second quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of 48 cents to 58 cents, well below the FactSet consensus of $1.21. For fiscal 2024, the adjusted EPS outlook was cut to between $2.17 and $2.42 from between $3.50 and $3.75. The stock, which is on track to open at the lowest price seen since Oct. 31, 2017, has tumbled 26.4% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has lost 8.4%.

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