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Highlights
- Ulta Beauty and e.l.f. Beauty shares fluctuated as investors assessed Black Friday trends.
- Ulta reported a 6% increase in Black Friday foot traffic, while overall beauty sector traffic declined.
- Estée Lauder and Coty shares gained on optimism surrounding holiday sales performance.
Cosmetic companies experienced a mixed trading session Monday as investors analyzed preliminary data from Black Friday, the critical holiday shopping event. Shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) and Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) both started the day with a dip of around 3.5%, even as the S&P 500 rose modestly. By late morning, Ulta recovered nearly 1%, while e.l.f. pared losses to close down 1.1%.
Ulta Beauty enjoyed a positive Black Friday turnout, with a nearly 6% increase in store visits compared to 2022, according to analytics firm Placer.ai. However, the broader health, beauty, and self-care category faced challenges, as overall foot traffic declined based on data from Placer.ai and RetailNext, another firm tracking consumer activity.
Despite the rise of online shopping, beauty retailers continue to depend on holiday seasons to drive in-store visits. Digital platforms also contributed to beauty sales, with makeup and skincare ranking among the top-purchased items on Shopify during the Thanksgiving weekend.
E.l.f. Beauty, whose stock has seen gains in recent months, faced slight pressure from investor caution. This comes despite the company outperforming expectations in its latest earnings report, fending off concerns raised by a short-seller.
Other major players in the cosmetics industry fared better on Monday. Estée Lauder’s stock climbed 2.6%, while Coty, the parent of CoverGirl and Sally Hansen, rose 2%, signaling investor optimism about holiday sales momentum.
The holiday shopping season remains crucial for beauty brands, providing a gauge of consumer confidence and spending trends. With digital platforms growing in significance and in-store traffic presenting a mixed picture, the beauty sector looks poised for a season of both opportunities and challenges.
