Here’s Why e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) Declined in Q4

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management company, released its “ClearBridge Growth Strategy” fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. US equities reported a strong but volatile performance in the fourth quarter, with the S&P 500 Index returning 2.7% while the benchmark Russell Midcap Growth Index declined 3.7%. In this environment, a balanced, highly active share approach resulted in Strategy’s third consecutive quarter of outperformance, capturing early momentum while providing downside protection during rising volatility towards the end of the period. The strategy maintained its long-term investment philosophy of disciplined portfolio management and opportunistic capital allocation. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2025.

In its fourth-quarter 2025 investor letter, ClearBridge Growth Strategy highlighted stocks such as E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF). E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) is a beauty company that offers cosmetic and skin care products. On January 9, 2026, E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) stock closed at $87.02 per share. One-month return of E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) was 13.96%, and its shares lost 30.32% of their value over the last 52 weeks. E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion.

ClearBridge Growth Strategy stated the following regarding E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) in its fourth quarter 2025 investor letter:

“However, select holdings in consumer staples and health care did face pressure. Following a period of strong performance, shares of E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF), a cosmetics company focused on affordable, digitally native products, declined as sales growth was hurt by management’s decision to stop shipments to retailers that were slow to pass through tariff-related price increases. That said, we are encouraged that consumption trends for the brand remain healthy and management is already seeing shipment growth recover in the current quarter.”

Why e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (ELF) Surged On Thursday

E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. According to our database, 43 hedge fund portfolios held E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) at the end of the third quarter, the same as in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we covered E.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF) and shared the list of oversold global stocks to invest in. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.