E.l.f. raises outlook as Q2 sales jump 51% on digital growth

By Daniel Okafor

E.l.f. Beauty Inc. reported $520.8 million in fiscal Q2 2027 net sales for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 51% from $343.9 million a year earlier, and lifted its full-year outlook for the second straight quarter.

CEO Tarang Amin called the result the company’s 31st consecutive quarter of net sales growth. E.l.f. said sales increased in both retailer and ecommerce channels in the U.S. and abroad. The company also cited a rebound in unit sales for the core e.l.f. brand.

CFO Mandy Fields said organic net sales rose about 35%. Rhode, which e.l.f. acquired in August 2025, added about 16 percentage points to total growth during the month before the deal’s Aug. 5 anniversary.

Digital Commerce 360 ranks e.l.f. No. 328 in its Top 1000 Database of North American online retailers by annual web sales. E.l.f. also ranks No. 327 in Digital Commerce 360 and ReFiBuy’s AI Commerce Rankings. Top 1000 Pro with AI Database contains those rankings.

Digital platforms now carry more of the growth

Connected commerce, the term e.l.f. uses for sales through online platforms, accounted for 31% of Q2 sales, Amin said. E.l.f. said it was the top cosmetics brand on Amazon and the most-searched cosmetics brand in the U.S. On TikTok Shop, e.l.f. Cosmetics climbed to No. 2 in cosmetics.

Digital Commerce 360 also ranks Amazon No. 3 in its Global Online Marketplaces Database. It ranks the 100 largest marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value.

E.l.f. is using platform exclusives to test new categories:

• In October, e.l.f. launched e.l.f. Pop, a fragrance and body collection exclusively on Amazon and TikTok Shop. The company plans more scents later in the fiscal year.
• In July, e.l.f. Hair launched with six products priced at $10 or less, exclusively at Target. Amin said it was already among Target’s top 20 hair care brands, and about half its buyers were new to e.l.f.

Amin said Rhode’s direct-to-consumer site remains a strong channel alongside its retail expansion. A limited-edition collection with influencer Alexandra Leclerc drew a waitlist of more than 200,000 and mostly sold out within an hour. Amin said e.l.f. had not seen higher customer acquisition costs for Rhode.

Rhode turns Sephora into an international growth engine

Rhode launched at Sephora in 19 European countries in September. Amin said the move marked “the biggest launch in Sephora’s history.” He also said Rhode was the top brand Sephora carries in Europe and had one of the retailer’s strongest repeat rates. Rhode still reaches only about 40% of Sephora locations worldwide, he said.

E.l.f. international net sales rose 165% in Q2, while U.S. net sales increased 25%, the company reported. International sales made up about 25% of net sales on a trailing 12-month basis. Digital Commerce 360 reported about 20% in May.

Amin said legacy beauty peers generate about 70% of sales abroad. Fields said the core e.l.f. brand improved in its largest international markets: Canada, the U.K. and Germany.

The outlook rises, but the second-half pace slows

E.l.f. now expects fiscal 2027 net sales growth of 22% to 24%, up from 18% to 20% projected last quarter and 12% to 14% in May. Management expects second-half net sales growth of about 7% to 10%, with Q3 above that range and Q4 below it.

Fields tied the Q4 slowdown to launches last year. The comparison set included e.l.f.’s expanded space at Ulta Beauty, its launch with dm in Germany, Rhode’s launch at MECCA in Australia and New Zealand, and Naturium’s first expansion into Walmart.

Fields said the beauty category was growing at a low-single-digit rate, leaving the 7% to 10% outlook well ahead of the category.

What does this change for brands and retailers?

E.l.f. has turned marketplaces into launch infrastructure. The company used Amazon and TikTok Shop for an exclusive fragrance and body line, while Target carried a six-item hair line that reached new customers. Sephora carried Rhode into 19 European countries, and Rhode’s direct site produced a waitlist above 200,000 without a reported rise in customer acquisition costs.

For brand and retail teams, the practical change is concrete: marketplaces now serve as launch pads, ranking venues and international sales channels. Management’s 7% to 10% second-half growth forecast now becomes the next test. Fields linked the slower Q4 to last year’s Ulta, dm, MECCA and Walmart launches. E.l.f. enters that period with connected commerce at 31% of sales and Rhode in only about 40% of Sephora locations worldwide.