Coty forecasts drop in sales due to weak U.S. spending on beauty products, plans to raise prices on fragrances to offset tariff costs. Shares down 16% after surprise fourth-quarter loss. Retailers cautious with tariffs, destocking inventories as consumers cut spending on beauty and skincare. Coty expects 6-8% decline in like-for-like sales.

Finance chief Mercier cites value-seeking behavior, fatigue with innovation, less usage as reasons for weakness in cosmetics category. Changes in immigration policy under Trump administration also contribute to U.S. slowdown. Coty investing more in mass beauty business over fragrances, reallocation of investment expected.

Adjusted quarterly loss of 5 cents per share for Coty, missing analyst estimates. Loss includes negative impact from equity swap mark-to-market of $0.07 due to stock price decline. Beauty retailer Estee Lauder also gives weak annual profit forecast. Fourth-quarter revenue falls 8% to $1.25 billion, beating estimates of $1.20 billion.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Coty forecasts fall in quarterly sales, to raise premium fragrance prices