03:07 PM EST, 02/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Estee Lauder's ( EL ) outlook for third-quarter earnings fell well short of Wall Street's estimates as the cosmetic company expects sales pressure to intensify amid Asia Pacific demand challenges.

It projects adjusted earnings per share to drop by 69% to 79% for the three months ending March 31 to between $0.20 and $0.30. Adjusted EPS on a constant currency basis was guided in the $0.24 to $0.34 range. The FactSet consensus is for third-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $0.61.

The company expects reported sales to be down 10% to 12% from 2024's third-quarter sales of $3.94 billion. Second-quarter revenue fell 6% year-over-year to $4 billion. The consensus is for sales of $3.65 billion in the ongoing period.

Shares of Estee Lauder ( EL ) plunged 16% in afternoon trade.

Management withdrew the cosmetic company's full-year outlook at the end of October.

"Given challenges in the company's Asia travel retail business, subdued consumer sentiment in China and Korea, and evolving global geopolitical uncertainty, the company anticipates continued volatility and low visibility in the near term," Estee Lauder ( EL ) said Tuesday. "Therefore, it is solely providing a fiscal 2025 third-quarter outlook."

The second-quarter revenue of $4 billion still narrowly surpassed the $3.98 billion average analyst estimate in a FactSet survey. Adjusted EPS slid to $0.62 for the three months ended Dec. 31 from $0.88 a year earlier, but topped the Street's $0.32 view.

Skin care sales declined 12% to $1.92 billion. In the company's makeup division, global sales fell 1% to $1.15 billion. They declined 8% to $159 million in hair care while ticking up 1% to $744 million in fragrance.

Overall sales in the Asia Pacific slid 11%, while the Americas reported a 2% drop.

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