Ulta Beauty on Thursday raised its full-year forecast, after reporting growth in all major categories and topping Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations.
The beauty retailer said it expects net sales of between $12 billion and $12.1 billion, up from its previous range of $11.5 billion and $11.7 billion, representing an increase from last fiscal year’s net sales of $11.3 billion. It expects earnings per share of $23.85 to $24.30, up from its previous range of $22.65 to $23.20.
It expects comparable sales, a metric that takes out one-time factors like store openings and closures, to grow between 2.5% to 3.5%, up from projections of as much as 1.5%. The company had raised its annual profit forecast and the upper end of its full year sales range in May.
In the company’s news release, CEO Kecia Steelman said its outlook for the year “reflects both the strength of our year-to-date performance and our caution around how consumer demand may evolve in the second half of the year.”
Shares of Ulta gained roughly 6% in extended trading, after earlier hitting a 52-week during the regular session.
Here’s what the company reported for the fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, according to LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $5.78. It was not immediately clear if that was comparable to the $5.08 expected by analysts.
- Revenue: $2.79 billion vs. $2.67 billion expected
In the three-month period that ended August 2, Ulta’s net income rose to $260.88 million, or $5.78 per share, from $252.6 million, or $5.30 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased from $2.55 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Beauty has remained a hot category for consumers, even as they pull back or watch their spending in other discretionary categories. Yet that’s fueled tougher competition for Ulta Beauty as specialty players like LVMH-owned Sephora, big-box retailers like Walmart and department stores like Kohl’s have all bulked up their beauty businesses.
For investors, tariffs have been a closely watched challenge for retailers, too. Compared to other retailers, Ulta is not as directly exposed. Only about 1% of the company’s merchandise last fiscal year was direct imports, then-CFO Paula Oyibo said in May on the company’s earnings call. She said at the time most of Ulta’s exposure to the higher duties was minor, such as store fixtures and supplies.
In the second quarter, Ulta’s comparable sales grew 6.7% year over year, more than double analysts’ expectations, according to StreetAccount.
Customers visited more and spent more when they shopped on Ulta’s website and in its stores compared to the year-ago quarter. Transactions rose by 3.7% and average ticket increased by 2.9%.
Ulta added new brands and products that drove purchases in the quarter, including more products from Sol de Janeiro, exclusive Korean beauty brand Peach & Lily and Shakira’s hair care brand, Isima, Steelman said on the company’s earnings call.
Plus, she said, it’s trying to reach more of its existing and prospective customers in new ways. It had an activation at the Coachella and Lollapalooza music festivals and was the official beauty retail partner of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter Tour.
Along with attracting more customers in the U.S., Ulta has looked internationally for growth. It announced in July that had acquired Space NK, a British beauty retailer, from Manzanita Capital. The deal allows Ulta to enter a new international market, since Space NK has 83 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Ulta did not disclose the price of the acquisition, saying it funded the transaction with cash on hand and Ulta’s existing credit facility and that it would not be material to financial results for the fiscal year.
The company is expanding in other international markets, too. Ulta plans to open its first stores in Mexico City, Kuwait City and Dubai later this year, CEO Kecia Steelman said on the company’s May earnings call.
Ulta is also launching a third-party marketplace later this year, a move that more retailers are making as a way to expand the mix of merchandise they carry without needing more store shelf space or buying more of their own inventory.
At the same time, Ulta recently announced the end of one of its efforts to expand reach. It cut ties with Target, which had opened mini Ulta shops in more than 600 big-box stores. The licensing deal, which will end in August 2026, allowed Target to sell a smaller and rotating assortment of makeup, skincare, hair care products and more that are carried by the full Ulta stores. Target carried those items on its website, and it staffed the shops.
Ulta is looking for a new CFO as well. The company’s former CFO, Oyibo, left Ulta in late June after about a year in the role. Ulta has not yet announced her permanent successor.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
