Helen of Troy Limited (HELE) Securities Class Action Lawsuit Update

• Company: Helen of Troy Limited (NASDAQ: HELE)
• Lead Plaintiff Deadline: August 3, 2026
• Class Period: April 24, 2024 - October 8, 2025
• Stock Drop: July 9, 2024 - HELE fell $24.68 (27.7%); July 10, 2025 - HELE fell $7.04 (22.7%); October 9, 2025 - HELE fell $6.90 (25%)
• Lawsuit Type: Securities Class Action

Introduction

On June 2, 2026, a securities class action complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas against Helen of Troy Limited, its former CEO Noel Geoffroy, and its former interim CEO and longtime CFO Brian Grass. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of all investors who purchased Helen of Troy common stock between April 24, 2024, and October 8, 2025, asserting claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

At the heart of the complaint is Project Pegasus, Helen of Troy's ambitious global restructuring program. Launched to transform a sprawling, acquisition-heavy consumer goods company into a lean, efficient operating machine, Project Pegasus was supposed to generate between $75 million and $85 million in cost savings. Defendants repeatedly told investors the project was "on track," producing "critical fuel" for reinvestment and brand growth. Plaintiffs allege investors relied on that narrative as Project Pegasus was presented as the answer to stagnating organic revenue and rising integration costs.

The reality, according to the complaint, was starkly different. Helen of Troy lacked the budget and resources to achieve its stated restructuring goals. The cracks appeared on July 9, 2024, when the company reported a 49% year-over-year decline in earnings per share and slashed its full-year revenue outlook by more than 20%, sending shares plunging $24.68, or 27.7%. Defendants continued to assure investors that Pegasus was on track. Then, on May 2, 2025, Geoffroy abruptly departed after just 14 months as CEO, with no successor in place. Two months later, interim CEO Grass conceded the company had "made our company too complicated and lost focus on what made our businesses great," as Helen of Troy disclosed a $414.4 million goodwill impairment and a nearly 60% decline in adjusted earnings per share, sending HELE shares down another $7.04, or 22.7%. A third corrective blow landed on October 9, 2025, when new CEO G. Scott Uzzell acknowledged the company had "earned its way into a difficult period," reporting yet another quarter of steep declines and sending the stock down $6.90, or 25%.

Backdrop and Business Context

Helen of Troy Limited traces its origins to 1968, when Gerald J. Rubin and his father Louis Rubin founded a small wig and beauty-supply business in El Paso, Texas. What began in wigs evolved through licensing deals, international expansion, organic growth, and acquisitions into a diversified global consumer products company. The company began trading on NASDAQ in 1972 and is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker HELE. In fiscal 2025, during the period relevant to the lawsuit, Helen of Troy reported approximately $1.91 billion in net sales revenue and employed 1,883 full-time associates worldwide.

Helen of Troy makes money by designing, sourcing, marketing, and distributing branded consumer products across two main segments: Home & Outdoor and Beauty & Wellness. The Home & Outdoor segment includes well-known brands such as OXO (kitchen tools and gadgets), Hydro Flask (premium hydration products), and Osprey (outdoor packs and bags). The Beauty & Wellness segment houses Hot Tools and Drybar (hair styling tools and prestige hair care), as well as licensed brands like Vicks, Braun, and Honeywell for home health and environment products. These "Leadership Brands" account for the majority of the company's global sales. Helen of Troy competes against larger diversified players like Newell Brands, premium lifestyle rivals like Yeti Holdings, fast-moving innovators like SharkNinja, and an ever-expanding field of retailer private labels.

According to public filings, Helen of Troy reported approximately $912 million in total debt and $27 million in cash; the complaint separately alleges investors had grown concerned over acquisition-related integration challenges and costs. According to the complaint, by the beginning of the class period, organic revenue growth had stagnated and investors were growing concerned over integration challenges and rising costs, setting the stage for the restructuring promises that would become the focus of this lawsuit.

Promises Made vs. Reality

When Noel Geoffroy took the helm as CEO in early 2024, Project Pegasus was the centerpiece of Helen of Troy's pitch to investors. On her first earnings call on April 24, 2024, Geoffroy told analysts the company was "generating fuel from Project Pegasus to incrementally invest in growth opportunities and capabilities" and emphasized that Helen of Troy was "advantageously positioned to fully leverage [its] operational and organizational scale and assets." On that same call, CFO Brian Grass reinforced the savings narrative, stating that the company was "maintaining the total estimated savings of $75 million to $85 million over the duration of the plan" while noting only a modest shift in the "cadence of estimated savings recognition."

As the quarters progressed, Defendants doubled down. On July 9, 2024, even as the company reported deeply disappointing first quarter results, Geoffroy assured investors that "Project Pegasus continues to move forward" and that they had "made good progress on the cost of goods sold work streams, implementing multiple projects that reduce costs and simplify our supplier base." Grass echoed this, stating the company still expected to "expand gross margin year-over-year due to Project Pegasus" and that cost savings targets remained intact. By October 2024, Geoffroy declared Pegasus was "on track and is generating critical fuel for reinvestment in our brands" and characterized the project's initiatives as "fueling a step-level increase in brand and innovation investment." Grass added that the Tennessee distribution center's automation issues had been "substantially completed" and that Helen of Troy was "now in a position to achieve targeted efficiency levels by the end of fiscal '25."

The reassurances continued into 2025. At the January 8, 2025, earnings call, Geoffroy stated that "Project Pegasus remains on track" with lower product and commodity costs "providing critical fuel for reinvestment." Grass confirmed the company remained "on track with our savings targets and cadence." Days later, at the ICR Conference on January 13, 2025, Geoffroy described Pegasus as "quite all-encompassing" and told analysts the company was "seeing the fruits of that labor now." Grass went further, discussing plans to "set the next level of productivity initiatives" to layer on top of Pegasus. Even on the April 24, 2025, earnings call, Geoffroy maintained that "as a result of Project Pegasus, we are now operating with a more efficient foundation" and boasted that the company had "delivered the largest year of Project Pegasus savings."

Behind the curtain, according to the complaint, the picture was far grimmer. Helen of Troy did not have the budget or the resources to achieve its stated restructuring and savings goals. The complaint alleges that external macroeconomic headwinds compounded internal deficiencies and that Helen of Troy failed to focus on fundamentals when implementing Pegasus. As alleged in the complaint, given the importance of Project Pegasus to Helen of Troy's entire business model and financial trajectory, and Geoffroy's personal role in spearheading the initiative, the Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded that the program would not, and was not on track to, deliver the savings, efficiency, or effectiveness they consistently touted.

Timeline of Alleged Misconduct and Disclosures

Class Period: April 24, 2024 - October 8, 2025, inclusive.

April 24, 2024: Class period begins. Helen of Troy holds Q4 FY2024 earnings call. CEO Geoffroy touts Project Pegasus as "generating fuel" for growth. CFO Grass maintains total estimated savings of $75 million to $85 million.

July 9, 2024: First alleged corrective disclosure. Helen of Troy announces Q1 FY2025 results revealing a 49% year-over-year decline in EPS to $0.99 and reduces full-year revenue outlook by more than 20%, citing an "unusual number of internal and external challenges." HELE shares decline $24.68 per share, or 27.7%. Despite the poor results, Geoffroy assures investors Pegasus "continues to move forward" and Grass maintains savings targets.

October 9, 2024: Helen of Troy holds Q2 FY2025 earnings call. Geoffroy states Pegasus is "on track" and "generating critical fuel." Grass claims Tennessee distribution center remediation is "substantially completed" and efficiency targets are achievable by fiscal year-end.

January 8, 2025: Helen of Troy holds Q3 FY2025 earnings call. Geoffroy states Pegasus "remains on track" with lower costs providing "critical fuel for reinvestment." Grass confirms savings targets and cadence are on track.

January 13, 2025: Geoffroy presents at the 27th Annual ICR Conference, describing Pegasus as "quite all-encompassing" and stating the company is "seeing the fruits of that labor now."

April 24, 2025: Helen of Troy holds Q4 FY2025 earnings call. Geoffroy claims the company is "now operating with a more efficient foundation" due to Pegasus and touts the "largest year of Project Pegasus savings."

May 2, 2025: Second alleged corrective disclosure. Helen of Troy announces the sudden departure of CEO Geoffroy after just 14 months, with no successor named. The Company cites "underperformance in recent years" and states "a candidate with prior turnaround/restructuring experience would be attractive."

July 10, 2025: Third alleged corrective disclosure. Helen of Troy announces Q1 FY2026 results. Net sales declined 11% year-over-year. Adjusted EPS declined nearly 60%. The Company discloses a $414.4 million goodwill impairment. Interim CEO Grass admits the company "became too matrixed, too slow" and "made our company too complicated and lost focus." HELE shares decline $7.04 per share, or 22.7%.

October 9, 2025: Fourth alleged corrective disclosure (post-class period). New CEO G. Scott Uzzell reports Q2 FY2026 results. Sales down 8.9% year-over-year, adjusted EPS plummeted 51%, with significant business disruptions and cost headwinds expected to persist for the remainder of the year. Uzzell states Helen of Troy "earned its way into a difficult period." HELE shares decline $6.90 per share, or 25%.

Investor Harm and Market Reaction

The first alleged corrective disclosure came on July 9, 2024, when Helen of Troy's disastrous first quarter results shattered the narrative of Pegasus-fueled progress. HELE shares plunged $24.68 per share, a 27.7% single-day decline, as the market absorbed the 49% earnings collapse and the dramatic downward revision to full-year revenue guidance.

Despite the devastating July disclosure, Defendants continued to assure investors that Pegasus was on track. The second alleged corrective disclosure came on May 2, 2025, when, according to the complaint, Geoffroy’s sudden departure after just 14 months, with no successor in place, further revealed problems with the Project Pegasus narrative. The complaint points to the Company’s statement that a candidate with prior turnaround/restructuring experience would be attractive as further support for plaintiffs’ theory that Project Pegasus was not delivering as represented.

The third alleged corrective disclosure landed on July 10, 2025, when Helen of Troy disclosed an 11% revenue decline, a nearly 60% drop in adjusted EPS, and a staggering $414.4 million goodwill impairment. Plaintiffs allege Grass’s statement that the company had become ‘too complicated and lost focus’ undercut prior assurances about Pegasus’s progress.

The final alleged corrective disclosure identified in the complaint came on October 9, 2025, immediately after the class period, when new CEO Uzzell reported yet another quarter of steep declines, with sales down 8.9% and adjusted EPS falling 51%. Plaintiffs allege Uzzell’s acknowledgment that Helen of Troy had “earned its way into a difficult period” further revealed the consequences of Project Pegasus not delivering as represented. HELE shares dropped $6.90, or 25%. The complaint alleges that shareholders suffered losses as the alleged artificial inflation caused by Defendants’ challenged statements was removed from Helen of Troy’s stock price over time.

Litigation & Procedural Posture

The complaint asserts claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder against all Defendants, and under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act against the Individual Defendants as controlling persons of Helen of Troy.

The defendants are Helen of Troy Limited, former CEO Noel Geoffroy, and former Interim CEO and CFO Brian Grass.

Scienter allegations center on the critical importance of Project Pegasus to Helen of Troy's entire business strategy, Geoffroy's personal role in spearheading the initiative, and the implausibility that senior executives were unaware of the significant internal budget and resource constraints undermining the program. The complaint further alleges that the Company's internal budget and resource limitations, combined with known macroeconomic headwinds, made the publicly stated savings targets unachievable, a fact Defendants knew or recklessly disregarded. The sudden departure of Geoffroy after just 14 months as CEO, with no successor named, is cited as an additional strong indicia of scienter. The complaint does not reference insider stock sales or confidential witnesses.

Procedurally, the case was filed on June 2, 2026, in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division, and seeks class certification under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on behalf of all purchasers of Helen of Troy common stock during the class period. Lead plaintiff submissions are due August 3, 2026.

SEC Filings & Risk Factors

The complaint focuses primarily on statements made during quarterly earnings calls, investor conferences, and press releases rather than parsing specific SEC filing risk factor disclosures in detail. The core allegation is that throughout the class period, Helen of Troy's public communications, including those disseminated alongside its SEC filings, painted a consistently optimistic picture of Project Pegasus's progress and savings trajectory that was fundamentally disconnected from internal reality.

The complaint cites Helen of Troy's quarterly earnings releases and calls for Q4 FY2024 through Q4 FY2025 as the primary vehicles through which Defendants made materially false and misleading statements. In each of these communications, Defendants represented that Pegasus was "on track," that savings targets of $75 million to $85 million were being maintained, and that the program was generating "fuel" for reinvestment in the company's brands. The complaint alleges that these statements omitted the material facts that Helen of Troy did not have a sufficient budget or resources to achieve its stated restructuring goals, and that external macroeconomic conditions further undermined the program's viability.

The alleged corrective disclosures came in stages. The July 9, 2024, earnings release for Q1 FY2025 revealed a 49% decline in EPS and a dramatic revenue outlook reduction, attributed to an "unusual number of internal and external challenges." The July 10, 2025, earnings release for Q1 FY2026 disclosed an 11% revenue decline, a nearly 60% adjusted EPS decline, and a $414.4 million goodwill impairment, with interim CEO Grass conceding that the company had become "too complicated and lost focus." The October 9, 2025, earnings release for Q2 FY2026 revealed continued deterioration, with sales down 8.9% and adjusted EPS down 51%, as new CEO Uzzell acknowledged Helen of Troy had "earned its way into a difficult period."

The pattern, as alleged in the complaint, reflects a persistent gap between what Defendants publicly communicated about Project Pegasus's progress and the internal budget constraints, resource limitations, and operational failures that were preventing the program from delivering its promised results. The complaint alleges these omissions were material because Project Pegasus was the central pillar of Helen of Troy's investment thesis during the class period, and a reasonable investor would have considered the program's actual status important in making investment decisions.

How to Join the Helen of Troy (HELE) Class Action

• Confirm you purchased HELE shares during the April 24, 2024 to October 8, 2025 class period
• Review the allegations and eligibility requirements in the pending securities class action
• Gather trade confirmations and brokerage records documenting purchases or losses
• Consult counsel regarding lead plaintiff deadlines, eligibility, and recovery rights
• Click here to check eligibility

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