Core Insights - e.l.f. Beauty and Ulta Beauty reported contrasting earnings results, with e.l.f. exceeding earnings expectations but experiencing a significant stock decline, while Ulta continued its streak of earnings beats and maintained stable stock performance [2][6]. e.l.f. Beauty Performance - e.l.f. reported a revenue increase of 14.2% year-over-year, reaching $343.9 million in Q2, but net income plummeted by 84.8% to $3 million [3]. - The company faced an operating loss of $0.7 million despite a gross margin of 69.4%, with selling, general, and administrative expenses soaring to $231 million, severely impacting profitability [3]. - Management's decision to build inventory resulted in a cash burn of $37.9 million, leading to a compressed operating margin of 2.24% [3]. - Executives sold over $24 million in stock prior to the earnings report, which contributed to the stock's decline to the $70s range [3][6]. Ulta Beauty Performance - Ulta achieved $2.9 billion in revenue, surpassing estimates of $2.7 billion, with comparable sales increasing by 6.3% due to higher ticket sizes and transaction volumes [4]. - Net income remained stable at $230.9 million, maintaining a profit margin of 9.93%, while gross margin improved to 40.4% from 39.7% year-over-year [4]. - The company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, projecting approximately $12.3 billion in sales and earnings per share between $25.20 and $25.50 [4]. Comparative Metrics - e.l.f. Beauty's revenue growth was 14.2% year-over-year, while Ulta's was 12.9% [5]. - Profit margins were significantly different, with e.l.f. at 5.91% and Ulta at 9.93% [5]. - Operating margins also reflected a stark contrast, with e.l.f. at 2.24% compared to Ulta's 10.8% [5]. - Valuation metrics showed e.l.f. trading at a P/E ratio of 58.14x, while Ulta traded at 23.1x, indicating a substantial valuation gap despite Ulta's larger revenue base [5][7].