Estee Lauder (EL) Loses 8.5% After Dividend Ex-Date

We recently published 10 Firms Facing a Rough March So Far. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) was one of the worst performers on Monday.

Estee Lauder slashed its share prices by 8.48 percent on Monday to finish at $100.19 apiece, as investors unloaded portfolios following the record date of its next dividend payment, while mirroring a mostly pessimistic broader market.

On March 16, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) is scheduled to pay $0.35 dividends per share held by its shareholders of record on February 27. Investors immediately sold portfolios after the ex-date, while in a wait-and-see mode amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

The dividends followed the company’s strong earnings performance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, with The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) swinging to a net income of $162 million from a $590 million net loss in the same period a year earlier.

Net sales also jumped by 6 percent to $4.2 billion from $4 billion year-on-year.

In the six-month period, net income stood at $209 million, reversing a $746 million net loss, while net sales inched up by 5 percent to $7.7 billion from $7.36 billion year-on-year.

For the full fiscal 2026, organic net sales are targeted to grow by 1 to 3 percent, with the mainland China operations expected to increase by mid-single digit growth, while the Americas would remain flat.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL) also expects to incur $100 million of unfavorable impact from tariffs, most of which would come in the second half of the fiscal year.

While we acknowledge the potential of EL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.