By Kit Norton

E.l.f. Beauty shares rose late Wednesday after the cosmetics and skin care company reported better-than-expected fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter earnings, as investors appeared to look past profit guidance that was well below Wall Street's forecast.

E.l.f. Beauty stock jumped 6.5% in after-hours trade after ending Wednesday's regular market trade down 4.3% to $50.72. Shares have dropped 21% in May, part of a 33% decline in 2026.

The stock's move higher late Wednesday shows investors seem to be looking at the positives from the company's earnings report.

After the closing bell on Wednesday, e.l.f. posted adjusted earnings of 32 cents a share for the quarter that ended on March 31, compared with 78 cents a share a year ago and slightly above analysts' call of 29 cents a share. Revenue grew 35% to $449.3 million, beating Wall Street's $423 million expectation, according to FactSet.

On a regular basis, e.l.f. reported a loss of $49.4 million, or 82 cents a share compared with a profit of 49 cents a share last year. The company saw selling, general, and administrative expenses increase from $126.4 million to $319.1 million, primarily due to more marketing as well as increased merchandising and distribution costs.

For the full-fiscal year, e.l.f. announced sales rose 25% to $1.636 billion with profit of $3.13 a share, beating both the analyst consensus view and its own previous guidance.

Looking ahead, e.l.f. forecasts fiscal 2027 sales between $1.835 billion and $1.865 billion. The midpoint of that guidance is in line with the analyst consensus view of $1.864 billion, according to FactSet. However, the company's fiscal 2027 profit guidance of $3.27 a share to $3.32 a share is well below Wall Street's call for earnings of $3.61 a share.

"All five of our brands grew this year," CEO Tarang Amin said in the earnings release. "The whitespace opportunity in front of us across brands, categories, and geographies gives us great confidence in the runway ahead."

Write to Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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May 20, 2026 17:11 ET (21:11 GMT)

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