Ulta Beauty (ULTA) — Tellvest

Key financialsFY2026 Q1

Reported GAAP figures from SEC filings

Quarter	Revenue	Rev YoY	EPS	EPS YoY	Gross margin	Op margin	Net margin	FCF
FY2024 Q4	$3.49B	-1.9%	$8.46	+4.7%	38.2%	14.9%	11.3%	$963M
FY2025 Q1	$2.85B	+4.5%	$6.70	+3.6%	39.1%	14.2%	10.7%	$141M
FY2025 Q2	$2.79B	+9.3%	$5.78	+9.1%	39.2%	12.6%	9.4%	$20M
FY2025 Q3	$2.86B	+12.9%	$5.14	0.0%	40.4%	11.0%	8.1%	$-82M
FY2025 Q4	$3.90B	+11.8%	$8.02	-5.2%	38.1%	12.3%	9.1%	$907M
FY2026 Q1	$3.16B	+11.1%	$7.74	+15.5%	40.1%	14.2%	10.8%	$204M
FY2026 Q2	$3.04B	+8.9%	$6.57	+13.7%	39.1%	12.5%	9.3%	$38M

As stated by management on the call

Management’s own words, often on a non-GAAP, constant-currency, or adjusted basis — so these can differ from the GAAP figures above (e.g. constant-currency revenue growth excludes currency swings).

EPS: “diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased 15.5% to $7.74 per share”
Revenue: “first quarter net sales growth of 11.1%”
Guidance: “We now expect diluted EPS will be between $28.36 and $28.80 per share. Our new guidance represents growth between 10.6% and 12.3%”
Key metric: “comparable sales growth of 5.3%”

Top Analysts & Firms

Most Active Analysts

Analyst	Firm	Questions (Challenge)Percentage of questions scored as challenging — where the analyst pushed back, pressed for specifics, or questioned management's assumptions.
Chris Horvers	JPMorgan	6 (0%)
Mike Baker	D.A. Davidson	5 (0%)
Olivia Tong	Raymond James	5 (20%)
Michael Lasser	UBS	5 (40%)
Adrienne Yih	Barclays	5 (0%)
Simeon Gutman	Morgan Stanley	4 (25%)
Mark Altschwager	Robert W. Baird	4 (0%)
Michael Binetti	Evercore ISI	4 (75%)
Dana Telsey	Telsey Advisory Group	4 (0%)
Susan Anderson	Canaccord Genuity	4 (0%)

Most Active Firms

Firm	Analysts	Questions (Challenge)Percentage of questions scored as challenging — where the analyst pushed back, pressed for specifics, or questioned management's assumptions.
JPMorgan	1	6 (0%)
UBS	1	5 (40%)
Guggenheim	2	5 (0%)
D.A. Davidson	1

Latest Quarter Insights

2026 Q1

Sentiment

8/10+1.0

How this score was built

Base7Transcript0EPS0Guidance+1Final8

How this score was built

Base7Transcript0

Macro Signals

→Consumer Spending↓Inflation↑AI & Tech

Ulta Beauty opened fiscal 2026 with net sales up 11.1% to $3.2 billion and comparable sales up 5.3%, as a 3.7% increase in average ticket and a 1.6% increase in transactions lifted all channels and major categories. Gross margin expanded 100 basis points to 40.1% on lower inventory shrink and higher merchandise margin, helping diluted EPS rise 15.5% to $7.74. Fragrance led with high-teen comp growth while management leaned into new businesses including a TikTok Shop launch, an expanded marketplace, and AI-driven personalization. Citing strong execution, the company raised its operating profit growth outlook to 6.5% to 9% and its diluted EPS guidance to $28.36 to $28.80 while maintaining 6% to 7% net sales growth, and it lifted its fiscal 2026 buyback target from $1 billion to $1.5 billion. Management struck a measured tone on the balance of the year, pointing to a value-focused consumer, rising fuel costs, and low-single-digit comps against tougher comparisons.

Key Themes7

positive📊 company

Broad-Based Net Sales And Comp Growth

Net sales for the quarter increased 11.1% to $3.2 billion and comparable sales increased 5.3%, driven by a 3.7% increase in average ticket and a 1.6% increase in transactions, with all channels and major categories contributing.

Revenue GrowthDemand

positive📊 company

Gross Margin Expansion From Shrink And Merch Margin

Gross margin for the quarter increased 100 basis points to 40.1% of sales, primarily due to lower inventory shrink and higher merchandise margin, with shrink reductions across every category and every region.

MarginCost Pressure

positive📊 company

Fragrance Leads Category Performance

Q&A Topicsfrequency by quarter

	Competitive Dynamics	Revenue Growth	Margin	Demand	Innovation & R&D	Capex Investment	Product Launch	Pricing
2024Q3	5	3	3	2	1		1
2024Q4	6	5	2		2	2	1	1
2025Q1	6	5	2	2	3		1	2
2025Q2	4	5	4		1	2	2	1
2025Q3	3	3	4	3	3	4	2	1
2025Q4	2	3	4		1	2	2	1
2026Q1	2	1	4	5				1

	'24Q3	'24Q4	'25Q1	'25Q2	'25Q3	'25Q4	'26Q1
Competitive Dynamics	5	6	6	4	3	2	2
Revenue Growth	3	5	5	5	3	3	1
Margin	3	2	2	4	4	4	4
Demand	2		2		3		5
Innovation & R&D	1	2	3	1	3	1
Capex Investment		2		2	4	2
Product Launch	1	1	1	2	2	2
Pricing		1	2	1	1	1	1

Analyst Q&A8 analysts · 10 questions · 10% challenge

Adrienne YihBarclays

you raised the lower end of kind of the profit expectations and then the higher end of the EPS

View in transcript →

Dana TelseyTelsey Advisory Group

as you think about the margin comparisons going forward, either on SG&A or gross margin

View in transcript →

Ike BoruchowWells Fargo

View Consumer Cyclical sector trends →View Specialty Retail industry trends →

Mentions8

What ULTA and other companies said about each other on FY2026 Q1 earnings calls — extracted verbatim from public transcripts. Mentions from the newest quarter are a Pro feature.

Companies ULTA discussed

8 mentions

Alshayanot trackedFY2026 Q1Partner
“our franchise partner, Alshaya, opened our third store in the Middle East at the Dubai Mall”
Ulta's franchise partner Alshaya opened a third Middle East store at Dubai Mall, reflecting Alshaya's role in Ulta's international franchise expansion.
Estee LauderFY2026 Q1Supplier
“existing brands, including MAC, Kylie Cosmetics and Estee Lauder helped deliver growth for prestige makeup.”
Estée Lauder brands (including MAC) drove prestige makeup growth at Ulta this quarter, a positive read-through for Estée Lauder's prestige-makeup demand.
YouTubeFY2026 Q1Other
“We recently launched a YouTube enhanced measurement product, which provides deeper insights and benefits to our brand.”
Ulta's UB Media launched a YouTube measurement product that showed higher ad returns than other video channels, a positive signal for YouTube as a beauty-advertising channel.
Google's GeminiFY2026 Q1Partner
“we are integrating with leading AI platforms like Google's Gemini to enable agentic commerce.”
Ulta is integrating with Google's Gemini to enable agentic commerce, positioning Google's AI platform as a channel for Ulta's future shopping experiences.
Target CorporationFY2026 Q1Partner
“This growth was partially offset by lower royalty income from our partnership with Target Corporation.”
Ulta reported lower royalty income from its Target partnership (Ulta Beauty at Target shops), a slightly negative read-through for the scale of that in-store partnership.
TikTok Shopnot trackedFY2026 Q1Partner
“This quarter marked the exciting launch of our TikTok Shop with a strategic focus on our Only at Ulta exclusive brands.”
Ulta launched a TikTok Shop for its exclusive brands, expanding TikTok's social-commerce footprint with a major beauty retailer.
Klarnanot trackedFY2026 Q1Partner
“expanded same-day delivery options through Uber Eats and new Buy Now, Pay Later options through Klarna”
Ulta added Klarna as a Buy Now, Pay Later option at checkout, giving Klarna a new beauty-retail financing partnership.
Uber EatsFY2026 Q1Partner
“expanded same-day delivery options through Uber Eats and new Buy Now, Pay Later options through Klarna”
Ulta expanded same-day delivery through Uber Eats, adding incremental beauty-retail delivery volume to Uber's platform.

Industry Peersas of Q2 2026

Specialty Retail

Company	Score	Rev YoY	Headline
ULTA Ulta Beauty	8	+11.1%	Ulta Beauty opened fiscal 2026 with net sales up 11.1% to $3.2 billion and comparable sales up 5.3%, as a 3.7% increase in average ticket and a 1.6% increase in transactions lifted all channels and major categories
AMZN Amazon.com, Inc.	9	+19.6%	Amazon reported $200.6 billion in revenue, up 20% year-over-year, with worldwide operating income of $27.5 billion, up 43%
AZO AutoZone	7	+8.4%	AutoZone delivered its strongest revenue quarter in three years with total sales up 8.4% to $4.8 billion, driven by domestic same-store sales growth of 4.1% and commercial sales surging 10.4%
BBY Best Buy	6	+1.9%	Best Buy opened fiscal 2027 with better-than-expected results, reporting enterprise revenue of $8.9 billion up 1.9% and enterprise comparable sales growth of 2%, ahead of its roughly 1% outlook, with positive comps across most major categories led by gaming, computing and mobile phones
CASY Casey's General Stores, Inc.	9	+14.5%	Casey's closed fiscal 2026 with a record fourth quarter, posting diluted EPS of $4.37, up 66% year over year, and net income of $162.7 million, up 65.5%
EBAY eBay	8	+14.8%	eBay posted GAAP revenue of $3.13 billion in FY2026-Q2, up 14.80% year-over-year, with gross merchandise volume growing 14% to $22.4 billion as focused categories, C2C and recommerce each grew more than 20% and together crossed 70% of total GMV
GPC Genuine Parts Company	6	+6.0%	Genuine Parts delivered total sales of $6.5 billion in the second quarter, up approximately 6% year over year, with adjusted EPS of $2.15 versus $2.10 a year ago (management-stated +2.5%); GAAP EPS was $1.64, down from $1.83 as roughly $93 million of pre-tax restructuring and separation costs weighed on reported results
MELI MercadoLibre	7	+49.8%	MercadoLibre's net revenue surpassed $10 billion for the first time, up about 50% year-on-year, but GAAP EPS fell roughly 11% and income from operations declined about 17% as the EBIT margin compressed 550 basis points to 6.7%
ORLY O'Reilly Automotive	8	+8.1%	O'Reilly grew comparable store sales 6% in the second quarter, ahead of its own expectations, with GAAP revenue up 8.11% to $4.89 billion and GAAP EPS up 10.26% to $0.86
PDD PDD Holdings	6	+8.1%	PDD Holdings grew second-quarter revenue 8% year-over-year to RMB 112.4 billion, led by transaction services revenue of RMB 54.7 billion (up 13%), while GAAP operating profit rose 8% to RMB 27.8 billion
TSCO Tractor Supply	2	+2.3%	Net sales rose approximately 2% to $4.5 billion, but comparable store sales fell about 1.5% as an unusually weak May, driven by peak fuel prices and Southeastern drought, cut roughly 2 percentage points from quarterly comps and pushed results below plan
WSM Williams-Sonoma	6	+4.3%	Williams-Sonoma delivered 4.8% comp growth with all brands running positive, led by West Elm at +8.5% and the Williams Sonoma brand at +5.0% on top of a 7.3% comp last year

Shared themes this quarter

ULAMAZBBCAEBGPMEORPDTSWS

Revenue growth

ULAMAZBBCAEBGPME

Macro signal alignment

Consumer spending

ULTA AZO BBY CASY↓ EBAY EBAY↓ MELI ORLY↑ PDD↓ TSCO

Inflation

↓ ULTA AZO↓ BBY↑ CASY↓ GPC↓ MELI