Back in August, The Estée Lauder Companies announced, both obviously and shockingly, that longtime C.E.O. Fabrizio Freda would be retiring from the company at the end of the 2025 fiscal year. On one hand, of course, the business was staring down an eighth consecutive quarter of decline and a bleak 2025 outlook. E.L.C.’s stock would hit a seven-year low in September, and the current market cap is a mere $33.7 billion, down 75 percent from 2022. On the other, Freda and the company had remained defiant about his role. In February, Freda pooh-poohed rumors about a putative departure. In May, a person close to the matter told me that Freda’s job was “not on the line” and that he would not be leaving anytime soon. In June, the Journal published a friendly piece noting that Lauder was extending his deal and only beginning to contemplate succession.