Looking back on personal care stocks’ Q3 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC) and its peers.

While personal care products products may seem more discretionary than food, consumers tend to maintain or even boost their spending on the category during tough times. This phenomenon is known as "the lipstick effect" by economists, which states that consumers still want some semblance of affordable luxuries like beauty and wellness when the economy is sputtering. Consumer tastes are constantly changing, and personal care companies are currently responding to the public’s increased desire for ethically produced goods by featuring natural ingredients in their products.

The 12 personal care stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% above.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 9.1% on average since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q3: Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC)

Boasting brands such as Banana Boat, Schick, and Skintimate, Edgewell Personal Care (NYSE: EPC) sells personal care products in the skin and sun care, shave, and feminine care categories.

Edgewell Personal Care reported revenues of $537.2 million, up 3.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a disappointing quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ organic revenue and adjusted operating income estimates.

"Fiscal 2025 was a year of challenge and transformation. While both external and internal pressures impacted our results, we exited the year with encouraging momentum—marked by improving sales and market share trends and a revitalized brand portfolio," said Rod Little, Edgewell's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 4% since reporting and currently trades at $18.15.

Read our full report on Edgewell Personal Care here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Nature's Sunshine (NASDAQ: NATR)

Started on a kitchen table in Utah, Nature’s Sunshine (NASDAQ: NATR) manufactures and sells nutritional and personal care products.

Nature's Sunshine reported revenues of $128.3 million, up 12% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.7%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates.

Nature's Sunshine delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 60.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $21.98.

Is now the time to buy Nature's Sunshine? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

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

Short for "eyes, lips, face", e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) is a developer of high-quality beauty products at accessible price points.

e.l.f. Beauty reported revenues of $343.9 million, up 14.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.4%. It was a slower quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

e.l.f. Beauty delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. As expected, the stock is down 34.3% since the results and currently trades at $78.98.

Read our full analysis of e.l.f. Beauty’s results here.

USANA (NYSE: USNA)

Going to market with a direct selling model rather than through traditional retailers, USANA Health Sciences (NYSE: USNA) manufactures and sells nutritional, personal care, and skincare products.

USANA reported revenues of $213.7 million, up 6.7% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a miss of analysts’ gross margin estimates.

The stock is down 2.1% since reporting and currently trades at $20.48.

Read our full, actionable report on USANA here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Herbalife (NYSE: HLF)

With the first products sold out of the trunk of the founder’s car, Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) today offers a portfolio of shakes, supplements, personal care products, and weight management programs to help customers reach their nutritional and fitness goals.

Herbalife reported revenues of $1.27 billion, up 2.7% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ gross margin estimates.

The stock is up 72.9% since reporting and currently trades at $14.25.

Read our full, actionable report on Herbalife here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.