Brilliant Earth Raises Profit Outlook After Margins Rebound

By Sam Cooley | August 06, 2026

Exceeding its own forecast, Brilliant Earth Group reported second-quarter net sales of $115.1 million, up 5.7% year over year.

The company spent its first quarter absorbing a cost shock. Gross margin came back to 57.9% in the second, a 3.6-point recovery from Q1’s 54.3%, according to data released by the company Thursday and compared with earlier this year. (Gross margin is what’s left of each sales dollar after the cost of the merchandise, before marketing, salaries, and rent.)

Brilliant Earth raised its profit outlook. In May, it told investors 2026 earnings would land slightly below 2025. Now it expects $13 million to $15 million in adjusted EBITDA—profit before interest, taxes, and one-time items—against $12 million last year.

“Given our strong second-quarter performance and confidence in the second half of the year, we are raising our annual profitability guidance,” said chief financial officer Jeff Kuo in a news release.

What changed

Earlier in the year, as in 2025, management cited gold prices and tariffs as headwinds it needed to navigate. Three months later, the company recovered most of that ground.

Sales grew 5.7% while overhead growth slowed to 3.9%, and marketing spend held flat at roughly $26.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA came in at $5.8 million against guidance of $0.5 million to $2 million the company forecast in May.

Customers showing up to Brilliant Earth without an appointment appear to be on the rise, with the company recording a striking 47% more showroom bookings from walk-ins year over year.

Fine jewelry bookings grew about 32%, a category the company says makes up roughly 18% of total bookings. Within this category, bookings at $500 and above grew more than 40%; bookings in the two weeks before Mother’s Day grew 15%—a record for that window.

The Beverly Hills, Calif., flagship, which opened in late January, is generating more than 40% higher bookings than the West Hollywood location it replaced. Brilliant Earth calls the format its “Showroom of the Future,” and has since built a smaller version of it at La Cantera in San Antonio, which opened during the quarter as the company’s 43rd showroom.

What’s next

Brilliant Earth expects third-quarter sales to be roughly flat with last year’s, a slowdown from the 5.7% growth it posted in the second quarter. The company forecast adjusted EBITDA of $3 million to $5 million.

With a relatively quiet quarter planned in terms of growth, that leaves the year’s profit weighted toward the holidays. The company earned $1.1 million across the first six months, in adjusted EBITDA. With $3 million–$5 million forecast for the third quarter, most of the $13 million–$15 million targeted for year-end will have to arrive in the fourth quarter.

This back-loaded profit structure is seasonal and expected by management. Earlier this year, Kuo told investors that the fourth quarter is where Brilliant Earth expects its highest net sales through the year.

Brilliant Earth ended June with $74.9 million in cash, and its balance sheet showed no outstanding borrowings.

Top: The Beverly Hills, Calif., showroom (photo courtesy of Brilliant Earth)