A vegan cosmetics maker has actually outperformed Nvidia over the past 5 years

• Vegan makeup brand E.l.f. Beauty has outperformed AI king Nvidia over the past five years, Bespoke pointed out in new research.
• E.l.f. is up 2,639% over the period, while Nvidia has returned 1,937%.
• While they are very different companies, both firms regularly turn in blockbuster earnings reports and forward guidance.

A vegan makeup brand that makes products like facial putty has outperformed the king of AI over the past five years.

E.l.f. Beauty has seen its stock rise 2,639% since early 2019, outpacing Nvidia's 1,937% return over the same period, Bespoke Investment Group pointed out in a research note on Tuesday.

While the two companies are very different, they have one big thing in common: regularly turning in outstanding earnings reports, said Bespoke.

Given the moniker "earnings triple plays," both companies usually beat analyst earnings-per-share estimates, beat consensus revenue forecasts, and raise forward guidance.

Bespoke highlighted that E.l.f. Beauty has turned in seven triple plays in a row, dating back to August 2022, beating Nvidia, which has seen five straight.

E.l.f.'s strong performance can be partially explained by their savvy marketing on social media platforms like TikTok, Roblox, and Twitch, Business Insider's Lauren Johnson wrote in November 2023. Meanwhile, Nvidia has gotten an immense boost from the recent AI boom that some experts are calling a return to the Roaring 20s.

To be sure, comparing historical returns is not an exact science, as E.l.f.'s stock was trading around $8.50 at the start of February 2019, while Nvidia was at about $36 per share. The lower starting price means any subsequent gains are reflected by comparatively inflated percentage returns.