Ulta Beauty Beats Earnings, Revenue Estimates, Raises Full-Year Outlook
Quick Look
- Ulta Beauty reported strong fiscal first-quarter results, surpassing top and bottom line expectations.
- The company raised its full-year earnings outlook, citing broad-based growth across channels and categories despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Ulta Beauty reported quarterly results amid a backdrop of dipping consumer confidence, rising gas prices, and inflation, which typically lead to reduced discretionary spending.
Ulta Beauty on Tuesday reported quarterly results that beat on the top and bottom lines and hiked its earnings outlook as the retailer saw a strong start to its fiscal year.
Shares of the company rose as much as 7% in extended trading.
Here's how the company performed in its fiscal first quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
Earnings per share: $7.74 vs. $6.86 expected
Revenue: $3.16 billion vs. $3.10 billion expected
For the three-month period ended May 2, Ulta saw net sales increase roughly 11% compared to the year-ago period. It reported comparable sales rose 5.3%, compared to StreetAccount estimates of up 4.6%.
Ulta reaffirmed its full-year same-store sales and revenue projections, but raised its full-year EPS guidance to between $28.36 and $28.80. Its previous outlook was earnings per share between $28.05 and $28.55.
"Fiscal 2026 is off to a strong start driven by broad-based growth across all channels and major categories," CEO Kecia Steelman said in a statement. "Our results demonstrate the strengths of our model, focused execution of our talented associates and the effectiveness of our strategy in an uncertain macroeconomic landscape."
The earnings come as consumer confidence takes a dip amid soaring gas prices and rising inflation, leading to a pullback in discretionary spending.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Ulta Beauty's stock price will remain elevated in the short term.
Likely · Within days
Ulta Beauty will meet or exceed its revised full-year EPS guidance.
Likely · Medium term
Open Questions
- What specific categories or channels drove the broad-based growth?
- What are the key drivers behind the raised EPS guidance?
- How will Ulta Beauty navigate potential future economic downturns?
- What is the impact of the strong start on the rest of the fiscal year's strategy?
