E.l.f. Beauty CFO Mandy Fields on Tariff Refunds, Price Rollbacks, and a 23% Marketing Commitment

E.l.f. Beauty's chief financial officer, Mandy Fields, says the cosmetics and skincare company is channeling the bulk of a roughly $50 million tariff refund into marketing, even as it selectively restored pre-increase prices for the small slice of products that responded meaningfully to cuts.

The company recorded annual net sales of $1.636 billion for its fiscal year 2026, which ended in March, a 25% increase year over year, and logged its 30th consecutive quarter of net sales growth in August.

That trajectory was complicated by the Trump administration's tariff policy. E.l.f., which sources roughly 40% of its products from China, absorbed a hit of more than $50 million. In August 2025, the company raised prices by approximately $1 across its product portfolio, a move driven by both tariffs and broader inflation.

E.l.f. CEO Tarang Amin told CNBC's Jim Cramer at the time that consumers appreciated the transparency around those increases. Fields, however, said the higher prices ultimately caused sales to decrease.

After the tariff policies were struck down by the Supreme Court, E.l.f. received approximately $50 million in refunds, along with interest payments tied to the duties. The company's net income grew by about 100% and its gross margin expanded by 14 percentage points compared to the prior year in its first quarter ending in August, according to the company's earnings report.

When the refunds arrived, E.l.f. rolled back many of the price increases. The company found, however, that only 10% of items saw a meaningful jump in sales as a result of those reductions. E.l.f. is keeping those specific items at their lower price points using a portion of the refund.

The majority of the refund, Fields said, is being directed toward marketing — a category that already commands a significant share of revenue. "We spend 23% to 25% of our net sales behind marketing and digital," she said.

That spending reflects a strategy built around mid- and smaller-tier social media creators rather than high-profile celebrity endorsements. Fields said those creators carry more authentic connections to their communities, and that many posts featuring E.l.f. products are made organically, without a paid arrangement.

"A lot of the posts that you see for E.l.f. are organically done," Fields said. "So we might send them some product, but they're going to choose if they talk about it or not with their communities."

Community feedback also directly shapes the product pipeline. The company launched its bronzing drops after consumers requested them during a TikTok live session, and developed a pickle lip balm in response to a pickle trend that surfaced on social media platforms. "We say there's zero distance between us and our community," Fields said.

E.l.f.'s expansion has extended well beyond organic growth. The company completed the $355 million acquisition of skincare brand Naturium in 2023, and added lifestyle beauty brand Rhode for $1 billion in 2025.

Despite that scale, Fields said the company remains focused on affordability. Seventy-five percent of E.l.f.'s portfolio is priced at $10 or less, a positioning she credits with sustaining consumer loyalty even as broader spending habits have become more cautious. "They are still voting for E.l.f. because of the value proposition, the innovation, the fun marketing and digital that we bring to the table, the accessibility," she said.

Fields, who has held the CFO role since 2019, said the seat gives her visibility across every function of the business — and that the consumer psychology underlying purchase decisions remains a core interest. "I love thinking about what makes a person purchase an item," she said. "What makes one product more successful than another? Why does this marketing work better than that?"

With tariff uncertainty easing and marketing investment accelerating, how E.l.f. sustains its sales growth streak through fiscal year 2027 will be closely watched, particularly as consumers continue to weigh spending decisions carefully.

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