financetom
Business
financetom
/
Business
/
Ulta Beauty Delivers Strong Quarter, Investors Brush Off The Glow
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
Ulta Beauty Delivers Strong Quarter, Investors Brush Off The Glow
Aug 29, 2025 11:27 AM

Ulta Beauty, Inc. ( ULTA ) shares slipped Friday despite the beauty retailer delivering better-than-expected quarterly results and raising its full-year outlook.

The company reported second-quarter revenue of $2.79 billion, topping analyst estimates of $2.67 billion. Earnings of $5.78 per share also beat expectations of $4.97, according to Benzinga Pro.

Ulta lifted its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance to between $12 billion and $12.1 billion. That’s up from its prior forecast of $11.5 billion to $11.7 billion, and now expects comparable sales to grow 2.5% to 3.5%, versus its earlier range of flat to 1.5% growth.

Here are the key analysts ratings on the stock:

Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane reiterated the Buy rating on the stock, raising the price forecast from $530 to $584.

JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price forecast from $525 to $600.

Also Read: Denim Trend Boosts Abercrombie & Fitch Outlook

Goldman Sachs: McShane writes that Ulta Beauty's ( ULTA ) call underscored three points: it lifted its FY25 comparable-sales outlook after a second-quarter top-line beat, the anticipation of higher SG&A growth this year even as FY25 operating-margin guidance moved up, and higher EPS projections, which in McShane's view, justify the stock's recent strength.

Ulta's comp gains appear driven by a healthy cosmetics category and strong execution, with stepped-up investment in marketing, labor, and services translating into share gains.

Retailers face a cloudier second half amid broader price pressures. However, McShane considers management's FY25 top-line outlook conservative given the current momentum.

McShane raises the FY25 EPS estimate by about 2% and the FY26 figure by roughly 6%.

With the stock trading near 21x next-twelve-month P/E, McShane adds that higher earnings this year and next should support further upside in the stock.

JPMorgan: The analyst argued that beauty category growth is reverting to its 3%–4% long-term trend and Ulta's unique mass/prestige mix and advantaged industry position should keep driving share gains.

Horvers expects those gains to translate into better margin flow-through, faster earnings growth, and room for multiple expansion.

The analyst also cites Ulta's loyalty program as a structural data edge—often knowing more about the end customer than the brands—and notes Ulta is the only national beauty retailer that pairs prestige and mass products with services and a market-leading, cross-brand hair-care assortment.

Lastly, Horvers views department stores as long-term share donors.

Price Action: ULTA shares are trading lower by 6.44% to $496.47 at last check Friday.

Also Read:

Celsius Becomes PepsiCo’s US Energy Drink Captain In Major Portfolio Deal

Image: Shutterstock

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Goldman keeps Brent oil forecast, but flags downside risks to demand
Goldman keeps Brent oil forecast, but flags downside risks to demand
Aug 3, 2025
(Reuters) -Goldman Sachs on Sunday reiterated its oil price forecast with Brent averaging $64 per barrel in the fourth quarter of 2025 and $56 in 2026, but expects an increasing range of risks to its baseline estimates from recent developments. Increasing pressure on Russia and Iran sanctioned oil supply poses an upside risk to our price forecast, especially given the...
India Morning Newsletter, August 4
India Morning Newsletter, August 4
Aug 3, 2025
To access a PDF version of this newsletter, please click here If you would like to receive this newsletter via email, please register at: https://solutions.lseg.com/MNCIndia-Subscriptionpage For an index of our newsletters click on ...
Google agrees $36 million fine for anti-competitive deals with Australia telcos
Google agrees $36 million fine for anti-competitive deals with Australia telcos
Aug 17, 2025
SYDNEY, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed on Monday to pay a A$55 million ($35.8 million) fine in Australia after the consumer watchdog found it had hurt competition by paying the country's two largest telcos to pre-install its search application on Android phones, excluding rival search engines. The fine extends a bumpy period for the Alphabet-owned internet giant in Australia,...
Analysis-China's independent oil firms elbow into Iraq's majors-dominated market
Analysis-China's independent oil firms elbow into Iraq's majors-dominated market
Aug 3, 2025
By Chen Aizhu and Ahmed Rasheed SINGAPORE/BAGHDAD (Reuters) -China's independent oil companies are ramping up operations in Iraq, investing billions of dollars in OPEC's number two producer even as some global majors have scaled back from a market dominated by Beijing's big state-run firms. Drawn by more lucrative contract arrangements, smaller Chinese producers are on track to double their output...
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved