Ulta misses Wall Street expectations, trims guidance after quarterly sales decline

Ulta Beauty shares fell 7% in extended trading Thursday after the company fell short of second-quarter expectations and trimmed its full-year guidance after a decline in same-store sales during the most recent period.

Comparable sales for the second quarter fell 1.2%, compared with an 8% increase a year earlier and well below the 1.2% growth that Wall Street analysts had expected, according to StreetAccount.

“While we are encouraged by many positive indicators across our business, our second quarter performance did not meet our expectations, driven primarily by a decline in comparable store sales. We are clear about the factors that adversely impacted our store performance, and we have actions underway to address the trends,” CEO Dave Kimbell said a press release.

The company now forecasts full-year same-store sales in a range of flat to 2% down, compared with prior guidance of 2% to 3% growth.

Ulta also now expects full-year revenue of $11 billion to $11.2 billion, down from previous guidance of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion, and full-year earnings per share of $25.20 to $26, down from a previous forecast of $22.60 to $23.50.

Here’s how the beauty retailer performed in the period ended August 3 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $5.30 vs. $5.46 expected
• Revenue: $2.55 billion vs. $2.61 billion expected

The company reported net income of $252.6 million, or $5.30 per share, compared with $300.1 million, or $6.02 per share, during the same quarter a year earlier. 

Revenue rose to $2.55 billion, up from $2.53 billion a year earlier.

Earlier this month, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a $266 million stake in the beauty retailer, sending Ulta shares surging. For some analysts, it was validation that the stock was oversold after falling 32% in 2024 up to that point, tumbling 26% in the second quarter alone.

Shares of Ulta have been suffering since CEO Dave Kimbell warned of cooling beauty demand at an investor conference back in April. Kimbell said although a pullback was expected, it had hit the company “a bit earlier and bit bigger” than anticipated.

During the company’s first-quarter earnings call in May, Kimbell outlined plans to boost sales that spanned five key areas: product assortment, brand social relevance, enhancing the consumer digital experience, boosting the loyalty program and evolving the company’s promotional levers.

In the same call, Kimbell also said the beauty retailer later this year would be expanding its partnership with delivery service DoorDash, would start testing new gamification platforms and would activate new marketing technology to personalize customer shopping experience.

“We remain positive on ULTA’s perch in a good industry and believe any pullback in the stock will be short-lived,” JP Morgan analysts said in a note published Tuesday.

“Surely, the industry is more competitive than it was a year ago, but Nielsen, Circana, and brands like [Estee Lauder] show that it’s an industry-wide slowdown,” the analysts wrote.