The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Investor Alert: Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Investigating Possible Shareholder Claims for Misleading Statements

Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims relating to alleged misleading statements hiding the company’s reliance on prohibited gray-market sales of its products in China. Current shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm.

On March 31, 2025, Judge Arun Subramanian of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order denying a motion to dismiss a securities class action complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Estée Lauder intentionally misled investors between February 2022 and October 2023 about the sustainability of its sales in China which, unknown to investors, partly occurred through prohibited gray-market resellers called daigou. Judge Subramanian ruled that the claims against Estée Lauder, former CEO Fabrizio Freda, and former CFO Tracey Travis could proceed, finding that the complaint sufficiently alleged that the defendants recklessly made misleading statements. After the full truth was revealed in November 2023 that the company’s declining sales were partly the result of China’s crackdown on daigou, Estée Lauder’s stock fell 19%. 

We are investigating potential wrongdoing by Estée Lauder’s directors and officers in connection with these allegations.

If you own stock in Estée Lauder and want more information about your legal rights, please fill out the form below.