Shiseido shares fell as much as 6.7% yesterday, their sharpest decline in nearly six months, after first-quarter sales of 231.96 billion yen ($1.47 billion) narrowly missed analyst expectations of 233 billion yen ($1.48 billion). Despite the miss, the company posted a 57.9% surge in core operating profit to 13 billion yen ($82.36 million) — a three-year high — driven by cost controls and structural reforms. China accounted for 33.8% of sales with a 4.5% YoY gain, offsetting a 3.6% domestic decline from reduced Chinese tourism. The company flagged a 5 billion yen ($31.67 million) profit impact from the Middle East conflict while exploring a shift to plant-derived materials to stabilize its supply chain.

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