UBS Raises Estee Lauder (EL) EPS Above Consensus and Guidance

After a rare miss last quarter, Estee Lauder (NYSE: EL) blew away earnings estimates with a $0.12 beat. Revenue growth of 8% beat expectations of 7.1% and margin expansion drove EPS of $0.82 which beat consensus of $0.70 and put the stock back on its upward trajectory.

Not everything is going right for EL. However,the company's outlook proved prudent (e.g., anticipating slowdowns in China/HK, US department stores, travel), and its efforts to offset such headwinds proved largely successful.

New initiatives going forward will be extremely important. The uptake of New Dimensions outside of the US and UK, Estée Edit in Sephora, and Clinique in Ulta will be the things to watch as the company relies on new initiatives in order to accelerate its growth rate.

UBS raised its revenue its revenue estimates by 9% and +6% in FY15 and 16 and raised EPS forecasts to $3.18 and $3.64. The Q1 margin beat and expected outperformance in Q2 inspired the analyst to publish an EPS estimate of $1.13 vs. company guidance of $1.04-$1.08. No change to Buy rating but the PT was raised to $98 from $95.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Estee Lauder click here. For more ratings news on Estee Lauder click here.

Shares of Estee Lauder closed at $86.97 yesterday.

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