Global Beauty Giant Plummets 7%, $1.8 Billion Vanishes in a Day

ESTÉE LAUDER COMPANIES INC. shares plunged 7.72% on the New York Stock Exchange, closing at $79.29 and erasing roughly $1.4 billion (about KRW 1.8 trillion) from its market capitalization, which now stands at approximately $19.6 billion (around KRW 26 trillion).

Trading volume topped 5.15 million shares, signaling a pullback in short-term investor sentiment.

Recently, Estée Lauder announced the acquisition of a 100% stake in Forest Essentials, India’s luxury Ayurvedic skincare brand, strengthening its push into the country’s prestige beauty market.

In its fiscal 2026 second-quarter results, reported in February, the company posted solid revenue and profit growth and raised its full-year outlook. However, it also faces regulatory risk, having been fined CAD 750,000 for environmental law violations in Canada.

Founded in New York in 1946, Estée Lauder is a global prestige beauty company that sells skincare, makeup and fragrance brands in over 150 countries.

With high-end labels such as M·A·C, La Mer, Jo Malone London and Tom Ford Beauty, it is a leading U.S. beauty group that, together with L’Oréal, dominates the global luxury cosmetics market.