e.l.f. Beauty says it will take “some pricing actions” on select products as consumers feel squeezed by higher costs. On Wednesday, CEO Tarang Amin pointed to a recent reduction of the Halo Glow skin tint price from $18 to $14, reporting test results showing a
For shoppers staring at higher prices in the grocery store and at the pump, e.l.f. Beauty is betting there’s still room for a little relief—if it comes at the register.
During the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Tarang Amin said e.l.f. Beauty plans to take “some pricing actions” on certain products as consumers become squeezed by other rising costs. He pointed to one change already made: the company recently reduced the price of e.l.f.’s Halo Glow skin tint from $18 to $14.
Amin said the early results were strong. “Initial test results show a 38% lift on Amazon and a 36% lift across all retailers, including a triple-digit sales lift on TikTok Shop.”
The pricing shift lands after e.l.f. Beauty raised prices in August by $1 across its product lineup to offset tariff-related costs. Now. with the company reporting that wallets are tightening rather than expanding. it is considering a different tradeoff: lower shelf prices on some items to keep shoppers moving.
The earnings release delivered enough momentum to make the decision more than a one-off promotion. e.l.f. Beauty posted adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share and revenue of $449 million, both beating Wall Street estimates. It also reported that, helped in part by prior price hikes, its gross margin expanded by 1.4% year over year.
Even with the beats, the stock’s mood has been darker. Shares of e.l.f. Beauty—its portfolio includes brands such as Hailey Bieber’s Rhode—are down nearly 38% over the past year.
Beyond cosmetics, the pressure building on consumers is showing up in basic household math. The company’s comments on the squeeze track broader signals: national gas prices have climbed sharply in recent months as the war with Iran disrupted global oil markets. with AAA data showing average gasoline prices above $4 per gallon nationwide. The Richmond Federal Reserve. in a report dated May 12. said rising fuel costs are forcing households to cut back on discretionary purchases as more income goes toward necessities such as commuting and groceries.
Amin’s outlook also tied back to energy costs. He said that if oil prices remain around $100 per barrel on average, e.l.f. Beauty could face “incremental cost headwinds” of $15 to $20 million in fiscal year 2027. Some of that burden, he said, would be offset by International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refunds.
In the same call, Amin described how geopolitical risk is feeding cost pressure. “As we consider the conflict in the Middle East. we are starting to see some inflationary pressure on commodities and transportation costs.” He added that the company’s outlook does not factor in the impact of oil prices or tariff refunds. because “the situation remains fluid.”.
The tariff angle has been moving through corporate America as well. Many major companies, including Walmart and Nike, have attributed price increases in 2025 to tariffs. At the same time. the Customs and Border Protection is rolling out at least $166 billion in tariff refunds to businesses that have paid related costs after the Supreme Court ruled all tariffs enacted under the IEEPA illegal in February.
That refund pipeline has been uneven for consumers. While some companies—FedEx and UPS—have pledged to return refunds to customers who paid, others have faced delays and legal pushback. Consumers who are waiting have filed class-action lawsuits as they attempt to claw back the price hikes they paid.
What e.l.f. Beauty is doing now sits at the intersection of those forces: tariffs that prompted price increases in August. and higher fuel and commodity pressures that are increasingly making discounts part of the shopping equation. Amin’s pricing experiment on Halo Glow, paired with the company’s earnings results, suggests e.l.f. is testing whether demand can be protected not just by margins, but by meeting customers where their budgets are.
e.l.f. Beauty Tarang Amin Halo Glow skin tint pricing actions earnings call adjusted earnings revenue gross margin Amazon TikTok Shop tariffs International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refunds gas prices Richmond Federal Reserve
Good. If they lowered the price I’ll finally try the Halo Glow stuff.
So they raised prices in August “for tariffs” and now they’re cutting again like that fixes it? Feels like whiplash. Also $18 to $14 isn’t exactly “relief” when everything else is still insane.
Amazon lift 38% and TikTok Shop triple digit… ok but is that real life or just bots lol. I don’t shop on TikTok so does it even matter? I thought lowering prices would be automatic, not “test results” first.
Stocks down 38% but they’re doing price cuts, so hopefully that means demand is dead? Or maybe it’s fine and investors are dramatic. Also “higher costs at the grocery store and pump” like cosmetics are the problem… my guess is people just aren’t spending at all, period.