A Look Back at Personal Care Stocks’ Q2 Earnings: Estée Lauder (NYSE:EL) Vs The Rest Of The Pack

September 23, 2025 at 23:37 PM EDT

EL Cover Image

As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q2. Today, we are looking at personal care stocks, starting with Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL).

While personal care products products may seem more discretionary than food, consumers tend to maintain or even boost their spending on the category during tough times. This phenomenon is known as "the lipstick effect" by economists, which states that consumers still want some semblance of affordable luxuries like beauty and wellness when the economy is sputtering. Consumer tastes are constantly changing, and personal care companies are currently responding to the public’s increased desire for ethically produced goods by featuring natural ingredients in their products.

The 12 personal care stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 7% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL)

Named after its founder, who was an entrepreneurial woman from New York with a passion for skincare, Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) is a one-stop beauty shop with products in skincare, fragrance, makeup, sun protection, and men’s grooming.

Estée Lauder reported revenues of $3.41 billion, down 11.9% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Stéphane de La Faverie, President and CEO, said, “Having closed fiscal 2025 as expected, we remain wholly focused on continuing to execute our strategic vision of Beauty Reimagined with excellence. Despite continued volatility in the external environment, we embarked on fiscal 2026 with signs of momentum and confidence in our outlook to deliver organic sales growth this year after three years of declines and to begin rebuilding operating profitability in pursuit of a solid double-digit adjusted operating margin over the next few years.”

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 2.8% since reporting and currently trades at $87.50.

Read our full report on Estée Lauder here, it’s free.

Best Q2: USANA (NYSE: USNA)

Going to market with a direct selling model rather than through traditional retailers, USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA) manufactures and sells nutritional, personal care, and skincare products.

USANA reported revenues of $235.8 million, up 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.7%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA and EPS estimates.

USANA delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 7.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $29.03.

Is now the time to buy USANA? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC)

Boasting brands such as Banana Boat, Schick, and Skintimate, Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC) sells personal care products in the skin and sun care, shave, and feminine care categories.

Edgewell Personal Care reported revenues of $627.2 million, down 3.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ organic revenue and EBITDA estimates.

Edgewell Personal Care delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 22% since the results and currently trades at $19.51.

Read our full analysis of Edgewell Personal Care’s results here.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF)

Short for "eyes, lips, face", e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) is a developer of high-quality beauty products at accessible price points.

e.l.f. Beauty reported revenues of $353.7 million, up 9% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 23.3% since reporting and currently trades at $136.10.

Read our full, actionable report on e.l.f. Beauty here, it’s free.

Olaplex (NASDAQ: OLPX)

Rising to fame on TikTok because of its “bond building" hair products, Olaplex (NASDAQ: OLPX) offers products and treatments that repair the damage caused by traditional heat and chemical-based styling goods.

Olaplex reported revenues of $106.3 million, up 2.3% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 5%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

Olaplex pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $1.41.

Read our full, actionable report on Olaplex here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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