In the halls of high finance, we talk about "alpha." In the beauty industry, they talk about "aesthetics." Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) has spent the last decade failing at both. To understand why a heritage giant is currently trading at the price of a latte, you have to go back to the "Original Sin": the 2016 acquisition of P&G’s specialty beauty business. It was a deal sold as a coronation—Coty would become the #3 beauty company in the world. Instead, it was a poisoning. Coty swallowed 43 brands ...

In the halls of high finance, we talk about "alpha." In the beauty industry, they talk about "aesthetics." Coty Inc. (NYSE: COTY) has spent the last decade failing at both. To understand why a heritage giant is currently trading at the price of a latte, you have to go back to the "Original Sin": the 2016 acquisition of P&G’s specialty beauty business. It was a deal sold as a coronation—Coty would become the #3 beauty company in the world. Instead, it was a poisoning. Coty swallowed 43 brands ...