good morning. When I first spoke to Elf Beauty CFO Mandy Fields a year ago, the beauty company had posted 16 consecutive quarters of growth. It's 8pm now.
I spoke with Fields on Tuesday, before the company reported its results for the quarter ending Dec. 31. Net sales increased 85% year over year to $270.9 million, primarily due to strength in both retail and e-commerce channels. The company's updated fiscal year 2024 outlook is for net sales to increase 69% to 71% year-over-year, compared with the previous figure of 55% to 57%. In January, ELF stock rose more than 10%.
“We argue that Elf's relevance to young and diverse makeup enthusiasts, omnichannel go-to-market capabilities, significant distribution white space, and attractive multi-year growth prospects for its profitable business model Our rating is 'outperform,''' William Blair analyst John Andersen wrote in a note Tuesday.
Provided by Elf Beauty
“We're celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, and in that time we've only had two quarters without growth,” Fields told me.
The Oakland, Calif.-based company, which has a strong Gen Z following, is working to reach more millennials, Gen Xers and even baby boomers, she said. For example, the brand announced a 15-minute true-crime parody documentary in January that will be screened ahead of Paramount Pictures' new release. mean girls.
Finance executives have traditionally viewed marketing as a cost center. But that's not how Fields sees it.
“We invest in marketing to grow our net sales,” Fields explained. “I always take a balanced approach. I never want to invest so much in marketing that it hurts our EBITDA margin. Adjusted EBITDA margin leverage is around 200% year over year. We expect it to be a basis point.”
She said Elf's brand awareness in the U.S. has doubled from 13% to 26% since 2020 as a result of marketing efforts that include digital channels such as TikTok.
Part of that marketing plan includes Super Bowl ads. Last year, the company held its first event featuring Jennifer Coolidge in a comical take on Elf's popular Power Grip Primer.
“Because of the Super Bowl, we saw 57 billion impressions around the world,” Fields said. “Two minutes after it aired, the number of visitors to our website for him increased tenfold.”
Looking at those metrics, Fields said the Elves decided to return Feb. 11 for this year's big game, Super Bowl LVIII, with one big difference. That is, last year's ads were regional, and this year's ads are nationwide. The company did not disclose the price of this year's spot, but a 30-second Super Bowl ad sold for $7 million. new york times report.
You can read about this year's Big Game commercial and what Fields had to say about Elf Beauty's growth drivers in my full article. Spoiler alert: She roots for the San Francisco 49ners.
Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leader board
Yanela Frias Mr. Frias has been promoted to vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), effective March 15. Frias will succeed Ken Tanzi, who will remain with the company through September 30 for a transition period. Mr. Tanji joined Prudential in 1988 and since 2018 he has served as CFO. Mr. Frias has been with Prudential for nearly 30 years. Prior to his appointment as president of Group Insurance in 2021, he served as president of Prudential He Retirement. Frias has served in a variety of financial roles for nearly 20 years, including accounting assistant at Prudential Financial, CFO at Personal Life Insurance, and CFO at Pension Insurance.
gary millerchip Mr. Millerchip was appointed EVP CFO of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST), effective March 15. Mr. Millerchip will succeed Richard Galanti, who has served as the company's CFO for nearly 40 years. Mr. Galanti will remain with Costco in an advisory role until January 2025. Mr. Millerchip joined the company from Kroger and served as SVP and CFO since April 2019.He worked for Kroger for 15 years, then more than 20 years, then in banking he worked for 20 years, most recently in the UK, where he worked for NatWest Group (formerly Royal Bank of Scotland).
big deal
The Burning Glass Institute, in collaboration with the Society for Human Resource Management, has released a new report on how GenAI will impact industries, businesses, jobs, and reshape the economy. The report predicts that the industries most likely to be impacted by GenAI include financial services, human resources, legal and business services, writing and editing, marketing, and computer programming.
“Financial services will be the most affected,” the report said. Roles most exposed to GenAI disruption within the financial industry include personal financial advisors, financial analysts, accountants and auditors, budget analysts, insurance underwriters, credit professionals, insurance underwriters, and tax professionals. Masu.
even deeper
Find the right AI approach for the problem you're trying to solvenew report for harvard business reviewexplains how knowing the right questions to ask can help you make better decisions, no matter how fast technology changes. According to the author, without the right questions, you'll start your journey in the wrong place.
overheard
“Apple's position is very inconsistent with our position on this issue, and frankly I think it's a bit of a travesty.”
— Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said during Spotify's earnings call on Tuesday, referring to Apple's compliance with new EU antitrust laws. luck report. Ek successfully lobbied European antitrust regulators to require Apple to allow users to download iOS apps from third-party app stores. However, in an earnings call, he called Apple's subsequent changes a “travesty” that continues to harm app developers.
