Ulta Beauty Q4 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates, Sales Up 11.8% Y/Y

Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein both top and bottom lines beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate. While net sales increased, earnings decreased from the year-ago period’s actuals.

The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share of $8.01, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.00. However, the bottom line declined 5.3% compared with the year-ago reported figure.

Ulta Beauty Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ulta Beauty Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ulta Beauty Inc. Quote

Net sales of this beauty product retailer increased 11.8% year over year to $3,898.4 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3,814 million. This growth was driven by higher comparable sales, the acquisition of Space NK and new store contributions. 

Comparable sales rose 5.8%, supported by a 4.2% increase in average ticket size and a 1.6% increase in transactions.

ULTA’s Quarterly Results: Key Metrics & Insights

Ulta Beauty’s gross profit totaled $1,483.6 million, up 11.2% from $1,333.7 million. However, as a percentage of net sales, gross profit decreased 38.1% from 38.2%. The decrease was mainly due to an unfavorable channel mix, deleverage of store fixed expenses and other revenues, partially offset by lower inventory shrink and supply-chain efficiencies.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 23% to $1,003.1 million from $815.6 million reported in the prior-year quarter. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses increased to 25.7% from 23.4%. This rise was due to the higher corporate overhead related to strategic enterprise investments, increased advertising expenses and higher incentive compensation.

Operating income was $476.9 million compared with $516.3 million in the prior-year quarter. As a percentage of net sales, operating income was 12.2%, down from 14.8% in the year-ago period.

ULTA’s Financial Health Snapshot & Store Update

This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $424.2 million. Net merchandise inventories were $2,181.1 million at the end of the reported quarter. Stockholders’ equity at the end of the quarter was $2,803.5 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $1,502.8 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2026.

In fiscal 2025, the company repurchased 2 million shares of its common stock for $890.5 million, excluding excise taxes. As of Jan. 31, 2026, $1.8 billion remained available under the $3 billion share repurchase program announced in October 2024.

What to Expect From ULTA in FY26

Ulta Beauty expects fiscal 2026 net sales growth in the range of 6% to 7%. Comparable sales growth is expected to be 2.5% to 3.5% year over year. 

Management expects an operating income growth between 6% and 9% in fiscal 2026. Earnings per share are envisioned to be in the range of $28.05 to $28.55.

The stock has risen 5.7% in the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of 0.6%.

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Stocks to Consider

Five Below, Inc.FIVE operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States and currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Five Below’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings calls for growth of 22.1% and 25%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers. FIVE delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 62.1%, on average.

Ross Stores, Inc. ROST, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brands in the United States. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. ROST delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.2%, on average. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ross Stores’ current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies an increase of 5.6% and 9.4%, respectively, from the prior-year levels.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. WSM delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.6%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Williams-Sonoma’s current fiscal-year sales indicates growth of 1.9% from the previous year’s reported figure.

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