Why Ulta Beauty Stock Jumped Today
Key Points
Ulta's stores and e-commerce sites are performing well.
Management is confident in the company's value-focused holiday strategy.
- 10 stocks we like better than Ulta Beauty ›
Shares of Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) popped on Friday after the specialty beauty retailer boosted its sales and profit forecast.
By the close of trading, Ulta's stock price was up more than 12%.
Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Ulta is going global
Ulta's net sales rose 12.9% year over year to $2.9 billion in its fiscal third quarter ended Nov. 1. The gains were driven by new store openings, rising sales at existing locations, and Ulta's acquisition of British beauty retailer Space NK Limited in July.
Ulta opened 28 new stores and remodeled 15 locations during the quarter. The cosmetics retailer ended the period with over 1,500 stores worldwide.
Revenue also continues to grow steadily at the company's older stores. Ulta's comparable sales at stores open at least 14 months grew a solid 6.3%.
"Exciting assortment newness, improved in-store and digital experiences, and bold marketing efforts are resonating with our guests and drove strong sales results, market share gains, and growth across all categories and channels, with notable strength in e-commerce," CEO Kecia Steelman said in a press release.
Still, Ulta's growth investments weighed on its profitability. Its operating income declined by 3% to $309.4 million, as its operating margin fell to 10.8% from 12.6% in the prior-year quarter.
Ulta's earnings per share, in turn, were flat at $5.14. However, that was nicely above Wall Street's estimates, which had called for per-share profits of $4.60.
Ulta is optimistic about the upcoming holiday selling season
These encouraging results prompted Ulta to lift its full-year guidance. Management now expects same-store sales to rise by 4.4% to 4.7%, up from a prior forecast of 2.5% to 3.5%. Ulta also boosted its earnings projections to $25.20-$25.50 per share, up from $23.85 to $24.30.
Should you invest $1,000 in Ulta Beauty right now?
Before you buy stock in Ulta Beauty, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Ulta Beauty wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $556,658!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,124,157!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,001% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 194% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of December 1, 2025
Joe Tenebruso has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Ulta Beauty. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
