Ulta Beauty, Inc.ULTA
NasdaqGS•Consumer Cyclical•Specialty Retail
Ulta Beauty, Inc. operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States, Mexico, and Kuwait. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications. It also provides wellness products. The company was formerly known as ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc. and changed its name to Ulta Beauty, Inc. in January 2017. Ulta Beauty, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) reported trailing twelve months revenue of $12.71B as of May 2026, a 11.3% increase year-over-year. Quarterly revenue reached $3.16B, reflecting continued top-line momentum.
Ulta Beauty, Inc. generated $1.19B in TTM net income, with quarterly EBITDA of $529.65M. The operating margin expanded from 14.1% to 14.2%, suggesting improving cost efficiency and pricing discipline.
The spread between operating margin (14.2%) and net margin (10.8%) indicates tight cost control with minimal non-operating drag. Net margin has improved from 10.7% a year ago, signaling stronger bottom-line efficiency.
ULTA trades at a P/E of 17.2x (in line with broad market averages) and a P/S of 1.6x. The price-to-book ratio of 7.9x indicates a significant premium over book value.
The company generated $203.62M in free cash flow over the trailing twelve months, a 44.4% increase year-over-year, indicating cash generation ability. The balance sheet shows $6.90B in total assets with no in long-term debt against $2.58B in stockholders equity. Data based on the most recent quarterly reports.
Competitive analysis based on 21 quarters of fundamental data
Operating margins are positive at ~13.0% on average, but show some variability — pricing power may be sensitive to market conditions.
Consistently high ROE averaging 47.4% suggests a durable competitive advantage and efficient capital allocation.
6 of the last 8 quarters generated positive FCF. The company generally funds itself but has occasional cash consumption quarters.
TTM revenue has grown consistently (6 of 7 quarters up), with ~12.3% growth over the period. Strong demand durability.
Data-driven red flags and warnings across 21 quarters
Operating margins declined 8.8% — watch for continued compression, which may signal competitive or cost pressure.
FCF consistently trails net income (avg 0.7x) — earnings may be inflated by non-cash items or aggressive accounting.
Limited debt-to-equity data available.
Revenue is stable or growing over recent quarters — demand appears durable.
FCF turned negative in 2 of the last 8 quarters — occasional cash consumption.
Shares decreased 7.8% — net buybacks are reducing shares outstanding and boosting per-share value.