What smart money is saying about e.l.f. Beauty Inc
ELF · Consumer Defensive · Household & Personal Products · Market cap $4.15B
1 fund in our archive has pitched e.l.f. Beauty Inc — most recently Platinium Asset Management in December 2025.
Company profile
e.l.f. Beauty, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides cosmetic and skin care products under the e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. Skin, Well People, and Keys Soulcare brand names worldwide. The company offers eye, lip, face, face, paw, and skin care products. It sells its products through national and international retailers and direct-to-consumer channels, which include e-commerce platforms in the United States, and internationally primarily through distributors. The company was formerly known as J.A. Cosmetics Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. in April 2016. e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Oakland, California.
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6
Reported positions
1
Bought
2
Sold
6
Letters
Position history
Between Q1 2025 and Q3 2026, 6 fund letters reported a position in e.l.f. Beauty Inc — 1 opened or added to the position, 2 trimmed or exited.
| Quarter | Letters | Bought | Sold | Theses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q2 2026 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Q2 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fund activity · 6 positions · 3 moves
- September 2026
Listed in Platinium AM Platinum Asia Fund’s reported holdings.
e.l.f. Beauty Inc - June 2026
“We exited lower- conviction positions in e.l.f. Beauty and Tractor Supply as decelerating growth and questions around long-term return potential weakened our confidence.”
e.l.f. Beauty Inc - June 2026
“On the sell side, we exited specialty insurance distributor Ryan Specialty due to softer insurance conditions, margin pressure and AI- related uncertainty; Silicon Laboratories following its proposed acquisition by Texas Instruments; cosmetics and skin care maker e.l.f. Beauty as execution and innovation concerns weakened the thesis; and medical device company Penumbra following its announced acquisition by Boston Scientific.”
e.l.f. Beauty Inc - AddedPlatinium Asset ManagementDecember 2025
“e.l.f. Beauty The stock fell 44% this quarter although it remains above its April 2025 lows. This business initially found success as a ‘dupe’ brand, relying on its fast and flexible supply chain in China to produce near-duplicates of premium cosmetic products at a fraction of the price. More recently they designed and developed their own hit products and have become a powerful brand in their own right. Today, this ‘category killer’ is the second largest cosmetics brand in the US behind Maybelline. It’s growing rapidly and generates returns on capital employed exceeding 40%. At its core, e.l.f. is a marketing powerhouse that has an exceptional knack for guerilla marketing campaigns. They are especially adept at the use of modern media to engage with young consumers in an authentic way – something most brands desperately want to do but can’t. Far from being tarnished by its roots as a ‘cheap knock-off’ of premium brands they have cast themselves as a champion of younger consumers. Their brand affinity among Gen-Z consumers is extremely strong. Critically, research shows consumers form brand loyalty in these foundational years and return to these brands even as their incomes grow and tastes change. So why the sharp share price decline? The market has a multitude of concerns. Firstly, the company sources heavily from China where it has strong manufacturer relationships. Tariffs hurt. Secondly, as a mass brand appealing to young consumers, e.l.f. finds itself on the wrong leg of a K-shaped economy. Despite these short-term, cyclical concerns e.l.f. continues to grow well ahead of the broader cosmetics category. Top 10 Holdings COMPANY COUNTRY INDUSTRY WEIGHT Industria de Diseno Texti Spain Cons Discretionary 4.4% Galderma Group AG Switzerland Health Care 4.3% Amer Sports Inc Finland Cons Discretionary 4.2% St James’s Place PLC UK Financials 4.1% Fair Isaac Corp US Info Technology 4.1% Allfunds Group Plc UK Financials 4.0% Birkenstock Holding Plc Luxembourg Cons Discretionary 4.0% Zoetis Inc US Health Care 3.7% Visa Inc US Financials 3.6% Games Workshop Group UK Cons Discretionary 3.5% As at 31 December 2025. See note 5, page 40. Source: Platinum Investment Management Limited. Disposition of Assets % 31 DEC 2025 30 SEP 2025 See note 3, page 40. Numerical figures have been subject to rounding. Source: Platinum Investment Management Limited. Net Sector Exposures % 31 DEC 2025 30 SEP 2025 See note 4, page 40. Numerical figures have been subject to rounding. Source: Platinum Investment Management Limited. 46 Other Japan Cash Asia Ex Japan Europe North America 43 41 41 9 9 34 2 3 0 0 Real Estate Information Technology Consumer Staples Industrials Communication Services Financials Health Care Consumer Discretionary 36 40 9 12 12 12 12 12 9 11 5 5 8 4 4 3 THE PLATINUM TRUST QUARTERLY REPORT 31 DECEMBER 202527 A more strategic concern relates to the fact that the company has started to buy other brands: Naturium in 2023 and Hailey Bieber’s Rhode in 2025. Investors are concerned this indicates a limited ability to grow organically in the US. They’re also worried about the company’s ability to extract adequate returns from these acquisitions given their lack of acquisition experience. While e.l.f. is now on-shelf in most major US retailers it has scope to grow shelf space within stores and is steadily expanding outside the US. However, we share the anxiety that e.l.f. may not earn an adequate return on acquisitions as there is little way to know the durability of influencer brands like Rhode, even if Hailey Bieber continues in her role there. That said, the stock is now trading at 22x earnings, roughly in line with the broader market. We see this as a premier growth asset with very strong brand equity and plenty of scope to grow in the US and overseas and in new categories like skincare. We have added to the position.”
e.l.f. Beauty Inc - HoldsPlatinium AMJune 2025
“This quarter, our thesis was affirmed as Galderma became the largest contributor to Fund performance. Its stock was up 20% in the quarter and is now back near its all-time high.1 Other significant contributors included US cosmetics company e.l.f. Beauty (+90%), Amer Sport, owner of the Arc’teryx and Salomon brands and up 40% for the quarter.”
e.l.f. Beauty Inc - March 2025
“This cohort helped offset weakness across mega cap tech names as well as consumer staples holdings e.l.f. Beauty and Target, which could be susceptible to higher costs due to tariffs.”
e.l.f. Beauty Inc
Fund coverage · 1 thesis
- Platinium Asset ManagementDecember 2025
e.l.f. Beauty is a high-ROCE, Gen-Z–favored brand growing ahead of category, with tariff and M&A concerns largely reflected at ~22x earnings.
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