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ULULTA

Ulta Beauty, Inc.

Rising onWhy it's trendingMoving on elevated volumeStrong bullish X conversation
$ULTA·$22B·Specialty Retail·Consumer Cyclical
$537.10+3.8%YTD-10.3%1Y+0.9%
Mentions · last 7 days
2026-08-22: 23 posts102+29%
Price updated 5h ago·X counts updated 9d ago
ULULTA
$ULTAUlta Beauty, Inc.
$537.10+3.79%102 posts+29%
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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AI verdict & sentimentAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Top X posts

Today's AI verdict on what's driving $ULTA, plus how loud the X conversation is and which way it's leaning.

AI analysis

TickerTalks’ read on the fundamentals and what’s driving the move.

Proven numbersAcceleratingAI verdict · as of 2026-08-30

The move is getting stronger, with heavier trading behind it.

Beauty leader beat and raised — comps re-accelerating and the guide is going up.

Ulta Beauty is the largest US specialty beauty retailer and had spent the year being punished on comp deceleration fears. The recent Q2 beat-and-raise reversed the narrative decisively.

  • Revenue and EPS are compounding again: quarterly revenue ran $2.79B / $2.86B / $3.90B (holiday) / $3.16B at a 39% gross margin, quarterly EPS at $5.80 / $5.16 / $8.04 / $7.78 — analysts model $13.24B and $28.80 EPS for the full year, so at $518 the stock is at roughly 18x forward, a defensible multiple for a compounding retailer.
  • The Q2 print was decisive: revenue $3.04B beat $2.96B (+8.9% YoY), EPS $6.55 beat $6.18 (+13.3%), operating income $379.6M +10.1% YoY, and FY26 guide got raised — net-sales growth 6.7-7.2% (from 6-7%), EPS $28.70-$29.00 with comps +3.8%.
  • The management transition is coordinated: board director Kelly E. Garcia transitioning to CTO on Aug 31 is a specific operational move that supports execution — combined with Beacon Pointe Advisors' 18,429-share purchase and the beauty-cohort momentum trade alongside ELF/EL, the setup is intact.

A Dec 3 Q3 print that carries the raised guide and shows continued mid-single-digit comps extends the run; a soft comp print, a specific beauty-cohort competition escalation (Sephora expanding US doors), or a fresh executive departure is what caps the multiple.

Agrees with X sentimentX's bullish framing is well-anchored — the Q2 beat, the raised FY26 guide, the +3.8% comps, and the beauty-cohort momentum are all real; no meaningful bear voice in the sample is the honest current state.

What to watch: The Dec 3 Q3 print — same-store comps, guide trajectory, and any Sephora US-door expansion commentary. A soft comp print is what caps the multiple.

On the calendar: 2026-12-03 — Q3 earnings

X sentiment

What the X crowd is saying right now — descriptive, summarised from the day’s posts.

Bullish sentiment25 posts analyzed · as of 2026-08-30

Ulta Beauty's thread is bullish across the board after a Q2 beat-and-raise. Posters flag revenue of $3.04B versus $2.96B expected, EPS of $6.55 versus $6.18, comp sales +3.8%, FY26 EPS guidance lifted to $28.70-$29.00, and the buyback plan raised from $1.50B to $1.80B. A suspected earnings hack that spiked shares mid-afternoon is a lingering oddity. CEO Kecia Steelman flags newness in mass and prestige as tailwinds into H2.

Read the AI verdict + X sentiment for $ULTA

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • X crowd read with bullish/bearish call + post volume
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

US specialty beauty retailer combining drugstore and prestige cosmetics, skincare, and haircare with in-store salon services.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Specialty Retail sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $ULTA.

Specialty Retail · Consumer Cyclical

Consumer discretionary spending patterns drive same-store sales; AI-enabled inventory management and personalization are differentiating omnichannel leaders. Back-to-school and holiday cadence are the near-term seasonality anchors.

What this means for $ULTA

Partial — REIT cash flows tied to occupancy, rent growth, and cap rate environment; Ulta Beauty, Inc.

Top industry ETF

$XRTSPDR S&P Retail ETF
+7.7%YTD
+2.1%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
17.2How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
23.9%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
12.5%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
5.2%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
1.6Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
44.8%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
39.3%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.9Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 27, 2026$6.55$6.22+5.3%
Q1 2026Jun 2, 2026$7.74$6.89+12.3%
Q4 2025Mar 12, 2026$8.01$8.10-1.1%
Q3 2025Dec 4, 2025$5.14$4.61+11.5%
Next earningsThu, Dec 3·consensus EPS $5.61

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q1 FY26$3.2B+11.1%40.1%14.2%$7.78$203.6M
Q4 FY25$3.9B+11.8%38.1%12.3%$8.04$907.4M
Q3 FY25$2.9B+12.9%40.4%11.0%$5.16$-82.4M
Q2 FY25$2.8B+9.3%39.2%12.6%$5.80$19.6M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 20 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY27$13.2B$13.2B – $13.3B$28.80$28.44 – $29.1420
FY28$13.9B$13.8B – $14.1B$31.94$31.50 – $33.2520
FY29$14.6B$14.4B – $14.8B$35.33$32.22 – $36.7011
FY30$15.1B$15.0B – $15.3B$37.13$36.63 – $37.705
FY31$16.4B$16.3B – $16.6B$43.65$43.07 – $44.325

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.2.6×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.27%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.+4.0%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.-6.9%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatLow float · 42.8M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today3.7% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β0.855-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

SellJun 15George R MrkonicDirector383 sh$182KSellApr 7George R MrkonicDirector452 sh$244K
+ 16 other (14 awards · 2 inkinds) in window

See when $ULTA insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
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SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KOfficer or director changeAug 178-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 8.01: Other event
AI summary

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) filed an 8-K on August 13, 2026, disclosing a director or officer change (Item 5.02) alongside other events (Item 8.01). Ulta is the largest U.S. specialty beauty retailer with over 1,350 stores and a leading loyalty program of over 40 million members. An executive or board change combined with additional disclosures could reflect a CEO/CFO transition, a new board appointment, or a leadership restructuring linked to the company's strategic reset in response to competitive pressures from Sephora-at-Target expansion and e-commerce. Investors should review which role changed and whether the 8.01 item discloses additional strategic context such as a new cost initiative or shareholder engagement update.

8-KOfficer or director changeJul 148-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

Ulta Beauty, Inc. announced on July 14, 2026, that board director Kelly E. Garcia will transition to the role of Chief Technology Officer effective approximately August 31, 2026, at which point he will resign from the board. The company issued a concurrent press release (Exhibit 99.1). This is a strategic organizational move that elevates technology leadership to the C-suite from within the board, reflecting Ulta's focus on tech-driven retail transformation rather than a routine departure.

8-KOfficer or director changeJun 98-K — Item 5.02: Officer or director change · Item 5.03: Charter amendment · Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

Ulta Beauty held its 2026 Annual Meeting on June 9, 2026, at which stockholders approved the 2026 Incentive Award Plan (5,001,201 total shares available: 3,500,000 newly authorized plus 1,501,201 carried over from the prior plan, which is now closed to new grants). The meeting also included director elections and potentially other governance votes (Item 5.07 detail cut off), plus an Item 5.03 charter/bylaws amendment. The new equity plan is mildly dilutive; director elections are routine.

+ 17 other (3 earnings 8-Ks · 3 13Gs · 3 proxys · 2 10-Qs) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Ulta Beauty Climbs 4%, e.l.f. Beauty Rises 5% as Post-Earnings Selloff Reverses247wallst.com·13h ago18,429 Shares in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA Purchased by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLCdefenseworld.net·3d agoUlta Beauty Q2 Earnings Call Highlightsdefenseworld.net·3d agoUlta Beauty Stock Is Down Today. Now Could Be a Good Time to Buy.fool.com·3d agoUlta Beauty Q2 Earnings Beat as Sales Rise, FY26 View Raisedzacks.com·4d ago

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TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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