Estée Lauder Investors Advance Suit Over Gray-Market China Sales

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. must defend against securities fraud allegations that the cosmetic giant concealed relying on gray-market sales in China during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The lead plaintiffs plausibly alleged then-executives at least recklessly disregarded they were deceiving investors while disseminating purported half-truths about its success in Asia, Judge Arun Subramanian said while denying the company’s motion to dismiss Monday. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York judge said the consolidated amended class action complaint successfully pleaded “several misleading omissions,” and even alleged forward-looking statements and opinions were “mired in half-truths.”

• Subramanian said there’s “little ...