e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. vs UNILEVER PLC, two Household Products stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
A small, fast-growing cosmetics maker, e.l.f. Beauty earns a slim 1.61% margin, and the market prices that growth at an eye-watering 146.72 times earnings. Unilever is a global staples giant, 19.82% margin at $132.2B, valued at just 12.87 times earnings. The spread is enormous, more than a tenfold gap in earnings multiple, and it reflects expectation rather than current profit. Unilever throws off 5.7% in free cash from a mature book; e.l.f. yields 4.68% while plowing capital into expansion. Unilever carries no net debt against e.l.f.'s 0.74. At $4.1B, e.l.f. is a growth wager; Unilever is a cash cow already delivering.
Comparison updated 2026-07-11.
| Metric | ELF | UL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $76.71 | $61.73 |
| Market cap | $4.6B | $134.8B |
| Sector | Household Products | Household Products |
| Stage | Growth | Mature |
| P/E | 166.8 | 13.1 |
| P/B | 4.08 | 7.05 |
| P/S | 2.82 | 2.46 |
| EV/EBITDA | 59.5 | 11.6 |
| Revenue growth | +24.0% | -0.4% |
| Gross margin | 72.7% | 47.0% |
| Operating margin | -11.2% | 17.9% |
| Net margin | 1.6% | 19.8% |
| Return on equity | 2.3% | 56.9% |
| Return on assets | 1.1% | 14.2% |
| Return on invested capital | 3.0% | 36.7% |
| FCF yield | 4.1% | 5.6% |
| Dividend yield | 2.3% | — |
| Debt / equity | 0.74 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 2.35 | 0.79 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.94 | 2.47 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 4 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.