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The Estee Lauder Companies (EL) & BALMAIN to Launch a Beauty Line

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The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL - Free Report) signed a license agreement with BALMAIN to introduce BALMAIN BEAUTY — an innovative line of beauty products. The parties will collaborate to develop, produce and distribute beauty items, which will resonate with luxury consumers globally. The collaboration is likely to launch during the fall of 2024.

The Estee Lauder Companies is the leader in prestige and luxury beauty globally. The company is focused on prestige and luxury makeup, skincare, fragrance and hair care categories and is available across almost 150 countries and territories. The collaboration with BALMAIN will add another leaf to EL’s growth story in the beauty space.

What Else Should You Know?

The Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is benefiting from a strong online business. The company has been implementing new technology and digital experiences, including online booking for each store appointment, omni-channel loyalty programs and high-touch mobile services. These initiatives and its digital-first mindset have been aiding the company’s online sales. For fiscal 2022, the online channel grew mid-single-digits organically, fueled by double-digit growth across Asia-Pacific. DECIEM’s high online penetration boosted sales growth across the channel.

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The Estee Lauder Companies boasts a solid Skin Care portfolio, which has been aiding growth. In May 2021, The Estee Lauder Companies took a step to expand its Skin Care business when it concluded the first phase of raising its ownership stake in DECIEM Beauty Group Inc. (DECIEM). In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, its skin care category was impacted by the resurgence of COVID-19 in Asia-Pacific during the back half of fiscal 2022. Keeping this in mind, it delivered solid results as an impressive performance from La Mer, Clinique and Bobbi Brown mitigated pressures from other brands in the division.

The company has a strong presence in emerging markets, which insulates it from the macroeconomic headwinds in the matured markets. It is investing in catering to consumer demand in China and Asia. To this end, it bought Korea-based skincare brand Dr. Jart in 2019. In its last earnings call, management highlighted that its Shanghai innovation lab is set to open in fiscal 2023. The investment in China will increase its ability to serve Chinese and Asian consumers with locally relevant innovation. In addition, the center will support the company’s East to West innovation mindset. Also, the company will start limited production in its new production facility near Tokyo during fiscal 2023.

EL’s shares have lost 9.7% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 10.9% decline.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks are Lancaster Colony (LANC - Free Report) , e.l.f. Beauty (ELF - Free Report) and The J. M. Smucker (SJM - Free Report) .

Lancaster Colony, which manufactures and markets food products for the retail and foodservice markets, currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). LANC delivered an earnings surprise of 170% in the last reported quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Lancaster Colony’s current financial year sales and earnings per share (EPS) suggests growth of 9.6% and 38.3%, respectively, from the corresponding year-ago reported figures.

e.l.f. Beauty, a cosmetic company, currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). ELF has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of almost 77%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for e.l.f. Beauty’s current financial year sales and EPS suggests growth of 16.9% and almost 6%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s reported figures.

J. M. Smucker, which manufactures and markets branded food and beverage products, carries a Zacks Rank #2. J. M. Smucker has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 20.8%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJM’s current financial year sales suggests growth of 4.4% from the year-ago period’s reported figure.

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