The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. 2008 Annual Report
[Intro]
[Chairman's Message]
[Chief Executive's Review]
[Fiscal 2008 Highlights]
[Multi-National Expansion]
[Multi-Channel Distribution]
[Multi-Brand Leadership]
[Portfolio of Brands]
[Board of Directors]
[Executive Officers]
[Financial Section]
[Stockholder Information]
[Environmental Profile]
[Form 10K]

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(continued)

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, "Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements, an Amendment of ARB No. 51" ("SFAS No. 160") to establish accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. Among other requirements, SFAS No. 160 clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary, which is sometimes referred to as minority interest, is to be reported as a separate component of equity in the consolidated financial statements. SFAS No. 160 also requires consolidated net income to include the amounts attributable to both the parent and the noncontrolling interest and to disclose those amounts on the face of the consolidated statement of income. SFAS No. 160 must be applied prospectively for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning in our fiscal 2010, except for the presentation and disclosure requirements, which will be applied retrospectively for all periods presented.

In December 2007, the FASB ratified the consensus reached on Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") Issue No. 07-1, "Collaborative Arrangements," ("EITF No. 07-1"). This EITF addresses accounting for collaborative arrangement activities that are conducted without the creation of a separate legal entity for the arrangement. Revenues and costs incurred with third parties in connection with the collaborative arrangement should be presented gross or net by the collaborators pursuant to the guidance in EITF 99-19, "Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal versus Net as an Agent," and other applicable accounting literature. Payments to or from collaborators should be presented in the income statement based on the nature of the arrangement, the nature of the company's business and whether the payments are within the scope of other accounting literature. Other detailed information related to the collaborative arrangement is also required to be disclosed. The requirements under this EITF must be applied to collaborative arrangements in existence at the beginning of our fiscal 2010 using a modified version of retrospective application. We are currently evaluating the impact the provisions of EITF No. 07-1 will have on our consolidated financial statements.

In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, "Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities-an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133" ("SFAS No. 161"). SFAS No. 161 requires companies to provide qualitative disclosures about their objectives and strategies for using derivative instruments, quantitative disclosures of the fair values and gains and losses of these derivative instruments in a tabular format, as well as more information about liquidity by requiring disclosure of a derivative contract's credit-risk-related contingent features. SFAS No. 161 also requires cross-referencing within footnotes to enable financial statement users to locate important information about derivative instruments. We are currently evaluating the disclosure requirements of SFAS No. 161. As this is a disclosure-only standard, we do not anticipate an impact on our consolidated financial statements as a result of its adoption. SFAS No. 161 becomes effective for our March 2009 interim consolidated financial statements.

In April 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 142-3, "Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets." This FSP amends the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" ("SFAS No. 142"). This FSP also adds certain disclosures to those already prescribed in SFAS No. 142. FSP No. FAS 142-3 becomes effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning in our fiscal 2010. The guidance for determining useful lives must be applied prospectively to intangible assets acquired after the effective date. The disclosure requirements must be applied prospectively to all intangible assets recognized as of the effective date.

In June 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. EITF 03-6-1, "Determining Whether Instruments Granted in Share-Based Payment Transactions Are Participating Securities." This FSP provides that unvested share-based payment awards that contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities and shall be included in the computation of earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method. This FSP is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008, and interim periods within those years. Upon adoption, a company is required to retrospectively adjust its earnings per share data (including any amounts related to interim periods, summaries of earnings and selected financial data) to conform with the provisions in this FSP. Early application of this FSP is prohibited. We do not issue share-based payment awards that contain nonforfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents.