Ulta Beauty (ULTA)

Consumer Discretionary · $28.0B market cap · SEC CIK 0001403568

Next reports on Dec 3, 2026, with analysts expecting $5.73 in earnings per share.

52-week range $443.60 to $714.97. 7% below its 52-week high and 50% above its low.

The case for ULTA

• Cheap for its growth: 23.2× earnings, where 22% a year of growth would justify about 41×.
• Earns 45% back on shareholder equity.
• Revenue growing 11.2% year over year.
• Has compounded revenue at 15.0% a year over five years.
• Barely leveraged. Debt is 0.13× equity.

The case against

• Weakest against its peers: net margin of 9% is thinner than 57% of Consumer Discretionary companies.

What the score is made of

Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Consumer Discretionary companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.

• Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 48 Consumer Discretionary companies.

The financials

The financials, five years deep

Pulled from Ulta Beauty's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.

What Ulta Beauty says it does

Overview Ulta Beauty, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” “Ulta Beauty,” or the “Company”) is an international specialty beauty retailer and a premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, wellness products, hair care products, and salon services. The Company was founded in Illinois in 1990 as a beauty retailer at a time when prestige, mass, and salon products were sold through distinct channels – department stores for prestige products; drug stores and mass merchandisers for mass products; and salons and authorized retail outlets for professional hair care products. The Company developed a unique specialty retail concept that offers a broad range of brands and price points, select beauty services, and a convenient and welcoming shopping environment. The Company’s target consumer is defined as a 3 Table of Contents “beauty enthusiast,” a consumer who is passionate about the beauty category, uses beauty for…

Risk factors ULTA lists in its 10-K

• Macroeconomic conditions could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, profitability, and cash flows
• We may be unable to compete effectively in our highly competitive markets
• Epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters, conflicts, or other catastrophes or crises could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, profitability, and cash flows
• Climate change could adversely impact our business operations and/or our supply chain
• Our comparable sales and quarterly financial performance may fluctuate due to seasonality and other factors outside of our control, which could result in a decline in the price of our common stock
• If we are not successful in managing our inventory balances, our sales may decline and our results of operations may be negatively affected
• If we are unable to gauge beauty trends and react to changing consumer preferences in a timely manner, our sales may decrease
• The development and use or misuse of AI or the failure to use AI present risks and challenges that may negatively affect our business
• If we fail to retain our existing senior management team or attract qualified new personnel at all levels, such failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, profitability, and cash flows
• If our marketing, advertising, and promotional programs are unsuccessful, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected
• Increased costs or interruption in our third-party vendors’ overseas sourcing operations could disrupt production, shipment, or receipt of some of our merchandise, which could result in lost sales and could increase our costs
• An inability to execute our real estate growth and optimization strategy could affect our financial results
• Expanding into international markets exposes us to additional risks
• Harm to our reputation could adversely impact our ability to attract and retain guests, associates, vendors, and/or other partners
• If we are unable to protect against inventory shrink, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected
• Our private label brand merchandise exposes us to various risks generally encountered by companies that source, manufacture, market, and retail exclusive private label brand merchandise
• We may not realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions, joint ventures, and partnerships, or these benefits may take longer to realize than expected
• Our secured revolving credit facility contains certain restrictive covenants that could limit our operational flexibility, including our ability to open stores
• Our stock repurchase programs could affect the price of our common stock and may be suspended or terminated at any time, which may result in a decrease in the trading price of our common stock
• Our associates or others may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with our policies and procedures

Filings

Other Consumer Discretionary companies