For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. This factor can impact your investment portfolio as well as help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.
The fear of missing out, or FOMO, also plays a factor in investing, especially with particular tech giants, as well as popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to ELF for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
e.l.f. Beauty's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at e.l.f. Beauty's main business drivers.
e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. is a multi-brand beauty company headquartered in Oakland, CA, focused on accessible, high-quality cosmetics and skincare. Its portfolio includes e.l.f. Cosmetics, e.l.f. SKIN, rhode, Naturium and Well People, spanning mass and prestige beauty across cosmetics, skincare and personal care. Following the transfer of Keys Soulcare to Alicia Keys in May 2026, the company streamlined its portfolio around brands with stronger growth and scale potential.
The company has evolved from a single-brand cosmetics business into a diversified beauty platform, supported by shared capabilities in innovation, marketing, digital commerce, supply chain and retail execution. The additions of rhode and Naturium have expanded e.l.f. Beauty’s exposure to skincare, broadened its consumer reach and increased diversification across categories, price points and channels. This platform approach allows the company to apply a consistent playbook of value, community-led innovation and disruptive marketing across multiple brands.
e.l.f. Beauty operates as a single reportable segment and uses an omni-channel distribution model. Products are sold through mass, drug, food, dollar, specialty and beauty retailers, as well as company-owned websites and third-party e-commerce platforms. In fiscal 2026, retailers represented 76% of net sales, while e-commerce contributed 24%, reflecting the company’s balanced channel mix and strong digital foundation.
The United States accounted for 79% of fiscal 2026 net sales, while international markets contributed 21%, led by the U.K., Canada and Germany. International remains a meaningful long-term growth opportunity as the company expands through new retail partners, additional doors and localized brand activation. Fiscal 2026 net sales rose 25% year over year to $1.6 billion.
Key retail partners include Target, Walmart, Amazon and Sephora, which represented 18%, 13%, 11% and 10% of fiscal 2026 net sales, respectively.
Bottom Line
While anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in e.l.f. Beauty ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.
According to our calculations, a $1000 investment made in October 2016 would be worth $3,973.00, or a gain of 297.30%, as of October 9, 2026, and this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
In comparison, the S&P 500's gained 260.55% and the price of gold went up 213.48% over the same time frame.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for ELF.
e.l.f. Beauty's diversified portfolio, led by rhode, Naturium and e.l.f. SKIN, provides multiple avenues for growth across brands, categories and geographies.Strong international momentum, expanding skincare penetration and e.l.f.'s value-led innovation are supporting market share gains, while the raised fiscal 2027 sales outlook reflects confidence in continued portfolio momentum. rhode offers significant global runway through broader retail distribution, while e.l.f. SKIN and Naturium have substantial room to expand their presence in skincare. Continued product innovation, retail expansion and geographic growth could strengthen the company's competitive position and sustain sales growth. However, core-brand weakness, higher operating expenses and softer consumer spending remain key risks to growth and earnings.
Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 10.65%, and there have been 5 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
e.l.f. Beauty (ELF): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).