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Side-by-side financial comparison of Estée Lauder Companies (The) (EL) and Principal Financial Group (PFG). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Principal Financial Group is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($4.6B vs $4.2B, roughly 1.1× Estée Lauder Companies (The)). Principal Financial Group runs the higher net margin — 11.3% vs 3.8%, a 7.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Estée Lauder Companies (The) posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (5.6% vs -3.7%). Over the past eight quarters, Principal Financial Group's revenue compounded faster (6.3% CAGR vs 3.6%).

Estée Lauder was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter. Lauder was the only woman on Time magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.

Principal Financial Group, Inc. (PFG) is an American global financial investment management and insurance company headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.

EL vs PFG — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PFG
PFG
1.1× larger
PFG
$4.6B
$4.2B
EL
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
EL
EL
+9.3% gap
EL
5.6%
-3.7%
PFG
Higher net margin
PFG
PFG
7.5% more per $
PFG
11.3%
3.8%
EL
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PFG
PFG
Annualised
PFG
6.3%
3.6%
EL

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Revenue
$4.2B
$4.6B
Net Profit
$162.0M
$517.0M
Gross Margin
76.5%
Operating Margin
9.5%
Net Margin
3.8%
11.3%
Revenue YoY
5.6%
-3.7%
Net Profit YoY
127.5%
-42.9%
EPS (diluted)
$0.44
$2.30

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$4.2B
$4.6B
Q3 25
$3.5B
$3.7B
Q2 25
$3.4B
$3.7B
Q1 25
$3.5B
$3.7B
Q4 24
$4.0B
$4.8B
Q3 24
$3.4B
$3.0B
Q2 24
$3.9B
$4.3B
Q1 24
$3.9B
$4.1B
Net Profit
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$162.0M
$517.0M
Q3 25
$47.0M
$213.8M
Q2 25
$-546.0M
$406.2M
Q1 25
$159.0M
$48.1M
Q4 24
$-590.0M
$905.4M
Q3 24
$-156.0M
$-220.0M
Q2 24
$-286.0M
$353.1M
Q1 24
$335.0M
$532.5M
Gross Margin
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
76.5%
Q3 25
73.4%
Q2 25
72.0%
Q1 25
75.0%
Q4 24
76.1%
Q3 24
72.4%
Q2 24
71.8%
Q1 24
71.9%
Operating Margin
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
9.5%
Q3 25
4.9%
Q2 25
-11.4%
Q1 25
8.6%
Q4 24
-14.5%
Q3 24
-3.6%
Q2 24
-6.0%
Q1 24
13.5%
Net Margin
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
3.8%
11.3%
Q3 25
1.4%
5.8%
Q2 25
-16.0%
11.1%
Q1 25
4.5%
1.3%
Q4 24
-14.7%
19.1%
Q3 24
-4.6%
-7.3%
Q2 24
-7.4%
8.2%
Q1 24
8.5%
13.1%
EPS (diluted)
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$0.44
$2.30
Q3 25
$0.13
$0.95
Q2 25
$-1.52
$1.79
Q1 25
$0.44
$0.21
Q4 24
$-1.64
$3.92
Q3 24
$-0.43
$-0.95
Q2 24
$-0.79
$1.49
Q1 24
$0.91
$2.22

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$4.4B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$7.3B
$3.9B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$4.0B
$11.9B
Total Assets
$19.6B
$341.4B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
1.82×
0.33×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$4.4B
Q3 25
$5.1B
Q2 25
$3.7B
Q1 25
$3.9B
Q4 24
$4.2B
Q3 24
$6.2B
Q2 24
$4.8B
Q1 24
$4.2B
Total Debt
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q3 25
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q2 25
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q1 25
$7.3B
$4.3B
Q4 24
$7.3B
$4.0B
Q3 24
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q2 24
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q1 24
$7.3B
$3.9B
Stockholders' Equity
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$4.0B
$11.9B
Q3 25
$3.9B
$11.7B
Q2 25
$3.9B
$11.4B
Q1 25
$4.3B
$11.2B
Q4 24
$4.2B
$11.1B
Q3 24
$5.1B
$11.2B
Q2 24
$5.3B
$11.0B
Q1 24
$5.7B
$11.2B
Total Assets
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$19.6B
$341.4B
Q3 25
$19.3B
$334.5B
Q2 25
$19.9B
$323.1B
Q1 25
$19.9B
$313.0B
Q4 24
$19.8B
$313.7B
Q3 24
$21.3B
$322.9B
Q2 24
$21.7B
$308.8B
Q1 24
$22.7B
$308.7B
Debt / Equity
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
1.82×
0.33×
Q3 25
1.88×
0.34×
Q2 25
1.89×
0.34×
Q1 25
1.68×
0.39×
Q4 24
1.75×
0.36×
Q3 24
1.44×
0.35×
Q2 24
1.37×
0.36×
Q1 24
1.26×
0.35×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$1.1B
$1.7B
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$1.0B
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
24.0%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
2.6%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
6.94×
3.37×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.1B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$1.1B
$1.7B
Q3 25
$-340.0M
$1.0B
Q2 25
$601.0M
$811.9M
Q1 25
$284.0M
$977.3M
Q4 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q3 24
$-670.0M
$1.1B
Q2 24
$889.0M
$1.4B
Q1 24
$534.0M
$584.2M
Free Cash Flow
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
$1.0B
Q3 25
$-436.0M
Q2 25
$394.0M
Q1 25
$162.0M
Q4 24
$925.0M
Q3 24
$-811.0M
Q2 24
$672.0M
Q1 24
$359.0M
FCF Margin
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
24.0%
Q3 25
-12.5%
Q2 25
11.6%
Q1 25
4.6%
Q4 24
23.1%
Q3 24
-24.1%
Q2 24
17.4%
Q1 24
9.1%
Capex Intensity
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
2.6%
Q3 25
2.8%
Q2 25
6.1%
Q1 25
3.4%
Q4 24
3.3%
Q3 24
4.2%
Q2 24
5.6%
Q1 24
4.4%
Cash Conversion
EL
EL
PFG
PFG
Q4 25
6.94×
3.37×
Q3 25
-7.23×
4.70×
Q2 25
2.00×
Q1 25
1.79×
20.32×
Q4 24
1.61×
Q3 24
Q2 24
4.05×
Q1 24
1.59×
1.10×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

EL
EL

Skin Care$2.1B49%
Makeup$1.2B28%
Fragrance$812.0M19%
Hair Care$168.0M4%
Other$31.0M1%

PFG
PFG

Segment Retirement And Income Solutions$1.6B36%
Segment Benefits And Protection$1.1B23%
Other$582.8M13%
Segment Principal Asset Management$465.6M10%
Subsegment Investment Management$449.4M10%
Administrative Service$152.2M3%
Subsegment International Pension$91.2M2%
Segment Corporate$73.0M2%
Subsegment Life Insurance$26.1M1%
Financial Service Other$25.1M1%
Residential Mortgage$7.4M0%
Subsegment Specialty Benefits$3.7M0%
Deposit Account$3.4M0%
Commission Income$1.8M0%

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