e.l.f. Beauty reported 38% net sales growth in Q3 fiscal 2026, driven by market share gains in its core e.l.f. Cosmetics brand and a breakout international performance from rhode, its prestige-adjacent brand co-founded with Hailey Bieber. (It's no surprise rhode ended up in Cosmetify's latest top 10 beauty brand ranking list.) On the strength of these results, e.l.f. raised its full-year outlook across revenue, EBITDA and earnings.
For beauty executives watching where growth is actually coming from in a volatile market, the quarter delivered a clear signal: brand velocity plus smart channel expansion still wins.
rhode emerges as a growth catalyst
A standout contributor to the quarter was rhode’s record-breaking launch at Sephora in the U.K., which management cited as a key highlight alongside continued U.S. momentum. The debut underscores rhode’s ability to travel—maintaining cultural relevance, strong sell-through and premium positioning as it scales internationally. For e.l.f., the brand is proving to be more than an influencer-driven halo; it is now a meaningful growth engine accelerating international and prestige-channel expansion.
Chairman and CEO Tarang Amin pointed to rhode’s performance as emblematic of e.l.f.’s broader playbook: pairing fast innovation with disruptive marketing and value discipline. “Our Q3 results… and a record-breaking launch of rhode in Sephora in the U.K., are a continuation of the consistent, category-leading growth we’ve delivered over the past 28 quarters,” Amin said.
Q3 fiscal 2026 highlights
For the three months ended December 31, 2025:
- Net sales rose 38% to $489.5 million, driven by strength across U.S. and international retail and e-commerce
- Market share increased by 130 basis points for the core e.l.f. Cosmetics brand
- Adjusted EBITDA jumped 79% year over year to $123.0 million, representing 25% of net sales
- Adjusted diluted EPS reached $1.24, nearly doubling year over year
Gross margin dipped modestly to 71%, reflecting higher tariff costs, partially offset by pricing and mix—an increasingly familiar trade-off for scaled beauty players navigating global supply chains.
Year-to-date performance reinforces durability
For the first nine months of fiscal 2026, e.l.f. delivered 21% net sales growth to $1.19 billion and 28% adjusted EBITDA growth, reinforcing that Q3 was not a one-off spike but part of a sustained growth curve. Investments in marketing, merchandising and distribution continued to pressure SG&A, but returns remain evident in share gains and brand expansion.
Outlook raised as confidence builds
Reflecting continued momentum across brands—including the accelerating contribution from rhode—e.l.f. raised its fiscal 2026 net sales outlook to $1.60–$1.61 billion, up from prior guidance of $1.55–$1.57 billion. Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to reach $323–$326 million, with adjusted EPS guided to $3.05–$3.10.
Executive takeaway
In a beauty landscape where growth is increasingly bifurcated, e.l.f. Beauty’s Q3 results highlight a powerful formula: mass-market scale paired with culturally fluent, globally scalable brands like rhode. As rhode transitions from breakout brand to repeatable growth driver, e.l.f. is signaling to the industry that disciplined expansion—across price tiers and geographies—can still deliver category-leading results.
