e.l.f. Beauty acquires Hailey Bieber’s skin care brand in a balmy billion-dollar deal
Shares of e.l.f. Beauty are up 8% in trading this morning after the company announced Wednesday that it’s agreed to buy rhode, a fast-growing skin care brand founded by Hailey Bieber, for $1 billion.
In a press release, the beauty giant cited rhode’s “incredible growth,” having more than doubled its consumer base over the past year and driven a total of $212 million in net sales in the 12 months to March 31.
Bieber’s company has seen business boom off the back of its curated “clean girl” branding and Gen Z favorite products, including a viral lip balm that slots into a specially designed indented phone case. Now, its new owner will be hoping that it can inject some energy back into its own sales, which have slowed dramatically since soaring in 2023 and 2024.
Indeed, in e.l.f.’s earnings yesterday, the company reported that sales rose just 4% year over year as beauty demand slowed and costs increased due to tariffs and inflation — leading to the brand announcing a $1 price hike as of August 1.
Even so, the 21-year-old e.l.f., which still notched its 25th consecutive quarter of growth, is outpacing competitors, like eight-decade-old rival Estée Lauder, which reported a sales slump of 10% in its third-quarter results on May 1.
Now, expanding its portfolio by moving into the burgeoning celebrity beauty brand space with another big all-lowercase name might help e.l.f. retain its Gen Z hype.
Bieber’s company has seen business boom off the back of its curated “clean girl” branding and Gen Z favorite products, including a viral lip balm that slots into a specially designed indented phone case. Now, its new owner will be hoping that it can inject some energy back into its own sales, which have slowed dramatically since soaring in 2023 and 2024.
Indeed, in e.l.f.’s earnings yesterday, the company reported that sales rose just 4% year over year as beauty demand slowed and costs increased due to tariffs and inflation — leading to the brand announcing a $1 price hike as of August 1.
Even so, the 21-year-old e.l.f., which still notched its 25th consecutive quarter of growth, is outpacing competitors, like eight-decade-old rival Estée Lauder, which reported a sales slump of 10% in its third-quarter results on May 1.
Now, expanding its portfolio by moving into the burgeoning celebrity beauty brand space with another big all-lowercase name might help e.l.f. retain its Gen Z hype.
