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what it is
E.l.f. sells low-priced makeup and skincare through big retailers and online across 18 countries.
how it gets paid
Last year E.L.F. Beauty made $1.3B in revenue.
why it's growing
Net sales grew about 77% in the latest fiscal year (company filings). Individual quarters can show much larger percentages when acquisitions and period mix shift—use the revenue bridge in the 10-K/10-Q, not one headline percent.
what just happened
Fiscal-year net sales on this page are ~$1.3B (bridge below); quarterly EPS prints move with timing, tax, and acquisition math—tie any headline EPS to the exact quarter in the release.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
60/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
29.1x trailing p/e — priced about right
14.0% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 49/100 — below average
What they do
e.l.f. sells low-priced makeup and skincare through big retailers and online across 18 countries.
You do not need luxury prices if you already own the cheap-and-good spot in beauty. e.l.f. sells at an average $9 price, posted a 70.0% gross margin, and reaches shoppers through major retailers in 18 countries. Gross margin → money left after product costs → so what: you get premium-like unit economics without asking your wallet to cosplay as a hedge fund.
How they make money
$1.3B
annual revenue · their business grew about +77% last fiscal year (SEC filings; rounded)
total revenue
$1.3B
+77%
The products that matter
core cosmetics and skincare franchise
e.l.f. brand
~$361.3M of q3 revenue excluding rhode
Backing out rhode's $128.2M from the $489.5M quarter leaves roughly $361.3M for the legacy business. That's where the real debate lives. If the legacy engine only grows in low single digits, the multiple stops looking generous and starts looking nostalgic.
legacy engine
acquired skincare brand operations
rhode
$128.2M in q3 revenue
rhode contributed $128.2M in a single quarter after the $1B acquisition. That's real scale, fast. It also means reported growth is now doing two jobs at once: measuring demand and hiding how much came from the deal.
new growth layer
company-wide beauty portfolio
combined portfolio
$1.3B annual revenue · 100% of sales
Disclosure is thin, so you should treat this as one consumer beauty story with one core test: can the combined portfolio keep demand high enough to justify a growth-stock multiple. If not, there is no second division coming to save the quarter.
one story
Key numbers
23.4x
fy2027 p/e
Using the $3.85 fiscal 2027 EPS estimate and the $90.07 share price, you are paying about 23.4 times earnings two years out.
$3.0B
fy2029 sales
Revenue rising from $1.3 billion to $3.0 billion means the bull case still depends on the company more than doubling sales.
70.0%
gross margin (FY)
Gross margin → money left after product costs → so what: e.l.f. has room to spend hard on marketing and still make money.
14.0%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on invested money → so what: the business is productive, but not so productive that execution stops mattering.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 15 / 100
- long-term debt $817M (13% of capital)
- net profit margin 11.0% — keeps 11 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 18% — $0.18 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in ELF 3 years ago → it's now worth $12,210.
The index would have given you $13,880.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
Fiscal-year net sales align with ~$1.3B on the revenue summary here, with EPS well ahead of the prior year on a comparable basis (confirm quarter vs fiscal year in the filing).
The highlighted quarter posted very large vs. prior year net sales growth as reported; management said the acquired rhode brand contributed $128.2 million to that quarter's top line—annual and quarterly growth rates are not interchangeable.
~$1.3B
fy net sales
~$2.50
fy diluted eps (rounded)
70.0%
gross margin (FY)
the number that mattered
The number that mattered was $128.2 million from the acquired brand, because that is big enough to flatter growth and reset expectations.
-
e.l.f.
-
beauty exceeded expectations by a wide margin in its fiscal 2025 third quarter. (quarter ended december 31st.) sales improved about 38% vs. prior year, to $489.5 million, driven largely by acquisition-related contributions.
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recall, e.l.f.beauty purchased the rhode brand from social media icon hailey bieber for $1 billion on august 5, 2025.
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in fact, this contributed $128.2 million to the period’s top line.
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without this, organic growth would have been roughly 2%.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
The core risk is simple: reported growth says 38% in the latest quarter, while the legacy business implied roughly 2% without rhode. That gap is not accounting trivia. It's the thesis.
high
organic slowdown hiding behind acquisition math
The latest quarter grew 38% on the surface, but management said organic growth without rhode was roughly 2%.
If the legacy brand stays in low single digits for another two quarters, the market has less reason to pay 29.1x trailing earnings.
high
rhode has to be more than a prettier comp
e.l.f. paid $1B for rhode, and the business already contributed $128.2M in one quarter. That scale helps. It also raises the bar immediately.
If rhode growth cools, margins disappoint, or integration distracts management, reported growth can slow before the market has time to be patient.
med
this is one category, not a sprawling consumer portfolio
You own a business with 100% of its $1.3B revenue tied to cosmetics and skincare demand.
If shoppers buy less or shift spend elsewhere, there is no separate division to steady the quarter.
med
institutional support already softened
163 buyers versus 216 sellers in 4q2025 is not a panic signal, but it is not sponsorship strength either.
If funds keep trimming, the stock can lose valuation support even if earnings stay merely decent.
rhode added $128.2M to the latest quarter, and organic growth without it was roughly 2%. That means a meaningful share of the current growth narrative is acquisition-dependent. Here's the thing: premium multiples are forgiving right until they aren't.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings
the next print after rhode is more fully absorbed
You want a cleaner read on the legacy business. If organic growth is still hovering around roughly 2%, the market will notice before management finishes the slide deck.
metric
reported growth versus organic growth
38% top-line growth sounds good. The more important question is how much comes from the underlying brand versus the acquired one.
trend
margin durability
An 11.4% net margin is healthy. If growth slows and margins slip at the same time, you get hit twice: lower earnings and a lower multiple.
risk
institutional flow
163 buyers versus 216 sellers already tells you sponsorship weakened. Another soft filing cycle would say the skepticism is spreading.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
below average
momentum score 4 — in human-speak, analysts think this has more near-term drag than lift.
risk profile
average
stability score 3 — this is not especially safe, but it is not a balance-sheet emergency either.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4 — the chart still needs buyers to prove the selling is over.
earnings predictability
60 / 100
earnings are reasonably forecastable, just not clean enough to mistake for a steady staples name.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
163 buyers vs. 216 sellers in 4q2025. total institutional holdings: 57.8M shares.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$48
$161
$90
current price
$105
target midpoint · +17% from current · 3-5yr high: $195 (+115% · 21% ann'l return)
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