e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. (NYSE:ELF)

Net Sales

Net sales demonstrated a consistent upward trend over the reported periods. Starting from approximately $230 million at the end of 2016, sales increased steadily to around $269 million in 2017. There was a slight decrease in 2018 to roughly $267 million, but the subsequent periods marked pronounced growth. By March 31, 2020, net sales reached about $283 million and continued to rise each year, reaching over $1 billion by March 31, 2024. This indicates strong expansion and increasing market demand over the longer term.

Operating Income

Operating income reflected a more fluctuating pattern compared to net sales. It initially rose from about $23 million in 2016 to nearly $33 million in 2017, but then declined in 2018 to approximately $26 million. Operating income remained volatile in the following years, with a dip to $9.4 million at March 31, 2021. After this low point, there was a marked recovery and growth, with operating income reaching nearly $150 million by March 31, 2024. This suggests periods of operational challenges, potentially related to cost management or investments, followed by strong improvements in operational efficiency or scale.

Net Income

Net income also showed variability but with an overall upward trajectory. From a low base of about $5.3 million in 2016, net income surged to approximately $33.5 million in 2017 before dropping to around $15.5 million in 2018. The income remained relatively low in early 2021 at $6.2 million, indicating a challenging period. However, subsequent quarters showed substantial recovery, with net income increasing dramatically to over $127 million by March 31, 2024. This progression reflects improved profitability and possibly the benefits of growing sales combined with better cost control or other income sources.

Current Assets

Current assets showed a generally upward trend over the periods reviewed. There was a slight decrease from December 31, 2016, to December 31, 2017, dropping from approximately 124.9 million to 123.6 million. Subsequently, current assets increased to about 141.7 million by the end of 2018. After this period, there was a gap in data for 2019, but starting March 31, 2020, current assets rose from 132.4 million to 170.1 million by March 31, 2021, continuing to 193.0 million in 2022. The growth accelerated significantly in the last two reported periods, reaching 303.3 million in March 2023 and 477.1 million by March 2024.

Total Assets

Total assets experienced a gradual increase from 414.7 million on December 31, 2016, to 417.2 million as of December 31, 2017. This upward movement continued, reaching 435.9 million by the end of 2018. From March 31, 2020, total assets showed a steady rise, growing from 453.1 million to 487.4 million by March 31, 2021, then to 494.6 million in 2022. Notably, in the last two periods, total assets showed substantial growth, climbing to approximately 595.6 million in March 2023, and nearly doubling to 1.13 billion by March 2024.

Overall Analysis

Both current assets and total assets demonstrate a pattern of steady expansion over the analyzed time frame, with more pronounced growth in the recent years starting from 2022 onward. The marked increase in asset bases in the most recent periods suggests possible business growth, increased investment, or improved liquidity. The acceleration in growth in both categories in the latest fiscal years indicates strong financial development relative to earlier periods.

Current liabilities

Current liabilities showed a declining trend from December 31, 2016, reaching their lowest point at the end of 2018. However, starting from March 31, 2020, there was a notable increase, peaking sharply at March 31, 2024, where the value more than quadrupled compared to the December 31, 2018, low. This indicates a substantial rise in short-term financial obligations in the most recent period.

Total liabilities

Total liabilities followed a downward trend from December 31, 2016 to March 31, 2023, decreasing from approximately 274 million to 185 million US dollars. Nevertheless, the last recorded data point on March 31, 2024, shows a significant surge to around 487 million US dollars, indicating a sudden and large increase in total liabilities.

Long-term debt and finance lease obligations, including current portion

This category of liabilities steadily declined over the span from December 31, 2016, to March 31, 2023, dropping from roughly 165 million to about 66 million US dollars, reflecting an ongoing reduction in long-term debt obligations. Conversely, at March 31, 2024, there was an abrupt rise to approximately 262 million US dollars, signaling a major increase in long-term financing or lease commitments.

Stockholders’ equity

Stockholders' equity exhibited consistent growth over the entire period presented. Starting at approximately 141 million US dollars at the end of 2016, it increased steadily through each period, reaching nearly 643 million US dollars by March 31, 2024. This indicates an expanding net worth and potentially increased retained earnings or equity investments over time.

The analysis of the cash flow components over the presented periods reveals distinct trends in operating, investing, and financing activities.

Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities exhibited a generally upward trajectory from 2016 to 2018, increasing significantly from approximately 2.1 million to 55.6 million. After a drop in the early 2020 period to around 44.3 million, the figure declined further to 19.5 million by March 2022. However, it rebounded sharply in March 2023, reaching over 101 million, before decreasing again to about 71 million in March 2024. This pattern indicates volatility but overall strengthening of cash generated from core business operations, particularly in the latest years observed.

Investing Activities

The net cash used in investing activities consistently reflected cash outflows, indicating ongoing investments. The outflows were stable around 8.9 to 10.4 million between 2016 and 2018, escalating sharply to 35.3 million in March 2020. After that, the outflows reduced substantially, fluctuating between 1.7 million and 6.5 million for the subsequent years up to March 2023. However, there was a dramatic increase in investing outflows in March 2024, reaching nearly 285 million. This surge suggests a significant investment event or acquisition during the most recent period.

Financing Activities

Net cash from financing activities started with a positive inflow of 8.3 million in 2016 but then turned negative for several years, with outflows peaking around 29.1 million in March 2022. There was a substantial variability, with the financing cash flow worsening and then somewhat improving before March 2023. In March 2024, financing activities saw an exceptional inflow of over 200 million, indicating a major financing transaction such as new debt issuance or equity financing contributing substantial cash.

In summary, the operating cash flow demonstrates growth with intermittent declines, signaling operational volatility but overall positive cash generation capacity in recent periods. Investing cash flows generally involve strategic expenditures with an extraordinary spike in the latest period, while financing activities reflect shifts from net repayments or expenses to a substantial influx of financing capital in the most recent quarter. These dynamics suggest strategic financial maneuvers surrounding capital investment and funding to potentially support growth or restructuring initiatives.

Basic Earnings Per Share

The basic earnings per share (EPS) showed a significant improvement over the examined period. The EPS started at a substantial loss of -39.47 US dollars at the end of 2016 but transitioned into positive territory by the end of 2017, reaching 0.74 US dollars. From 2018 onwards, the EPS remained positive with modest fluctuations: 0.33 US dollars in 2018, then steady positive values in the quarterly periods from March 2020 to March 2021 ranged between 0.13 and 0.37 US dollars. From March 2022, EPS demonstrated clear growth, increasing from 0.43 US dollars to 1.17 US dollars in March 2023, and further rising to 2.33 US dollars by March 2024. The trend indicates a strong recovery and consistent earnings growth over recent years.

Diluted Earnings Per Share

The diluted EPS followed a trend similar to the basic EPS. It started with a loss of -39.47 US dollars in 2016 and improved to 0.68 US dollars by the end of 2017. Subsequent years showed gradual growth with minor fluctuations: 0.32 US dollars in 2018 and values between 0.12 and 0.35 US dollars from March 2020 through March 2021. From March 2022 onwards, diluted EPS experienced strong gains, increasing from 0.41 US dollars to 1.11 US dollars in March 2023, and reaching 2.21 US dollars as of March 2024. This pattern mirrors the basic EPS, confirming enhanced overall profitability when accounting for potential dilution.

Dividend Per Share

No dividends per share were recorded or declared throughout the entire period analyzed. The absence of dividend payments suggests that the company either retained earnings for growth or maintained a policy of not distributing earnings to shareholders during the periods observed.