As the Q3 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the personal care industry, including e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) and its peers.

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 strong Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% above.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 3.9% on average since the latest earnings results.

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 $343.9 million, up 14.2% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 6.4%. Overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

e.l.f. Beauty scored the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Still, the market seems discontent with the results. The stock is down 55.7% since reporting and currently trades at $77.84.

Is now the time to buy e.l.f. Beauty? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Nature's Sunshine (NASDAQ: NATR)

Started on a kitchen table in Utah, Nature’s Sunshine (NASDAQ: NATR) manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products.

Nature's Sunshine reported revenues of $128.3 million, up 12% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.7%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Nature's Sunshine achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 55.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $21.33.

Is now the time to buy Nature's Sunshine? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: 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 $537.2 million, up 3.8% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 10.2% since the results and currently trades at $16.99.

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

Coty (NYSE: COTY)

With a portfolio boasting many household brands, Coty (NYSE: COTY) is a beauty products powerhouse spanning cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare.

Coty reported revenues of $1.58 billion, down 5.6% year on year. This result was in line with analysts’ expectations. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it produced a significant miss of analysts’ EPS and organic revenue estimates.

The stock is down 16.5% since reporting and currently trades at $3.13.

Read our full, actionable report on Coty here, it’s free for active Edge members.

The Honest Company (NASDAQ: HNST)

Co-founded by actress Jessica Alba, The Honest Company (NASDAQ: HNST) sells diapers and wipes, skin care products, and household cleaning products.

The Honest Company reported revenues of $92.57 million, down 6.7% year on year. This print came in 7% below analysts' expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged EPS in line with analysts’ estimates but full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The Honest Company had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is down 20.8% since reporting and currently trades at $2.62.

Read our full, actionable report on The Honest Company here, it’s free for active Edge members.

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