Ulta Beauty raises annual profit forecast after Q1 revenue rises on comparable sales

Ulta Beauty

02/06/2026 21:15

Overview
US beauty retailer's fiscal Q1 net sales rose 11.1% year-over-year
Diluted EPS for fiscal Q1 increased 15.5% to $7.74
Company repurchased $555 mln of shares during the quarter

Outlook
Ulta Beauty maintains fiscal 2026 net sales growth guidance at 6% to 7%
Company raises fiscal 2026 operating income growth guidance to 6.5% to 9%
Ulta Beauty increases fiscal 2026 diluted EPS forecast to $28.36 to $28.80

Result Drivers
COMPARABLE SALES GROWTH - Q1 net sales growth was driven primarily by a 5.3% increase in comparable sales, reflecting higher average ticket and more transactions
SPACE NK ACQUISITION & NEW STORES - Additional sales from the acquisition of Space NK and new store openings contributed to revenue growth
GROSS MARGIN IMPROVEMENT - Gross profit margin increased to 40.1% from 39.1%, mainly due to lower inventory shrink and higher merchandise margin

Company press release: ID:nBw1sbGbfa

Key Details
Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
Q1 Net sales
 
$3.16 bln
 
Q1 EPS
 
$7.74
 

Analyst Coverage
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 20 "strong buy" or "buy", 7 "hold" and 1 "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the miscellaneous specialty retailers peer group is "buy"
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Ulta Beauty Inc is $700.00, about 39.8% above its June 1 closing price of $500.77
The stock recently traded at 17 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 24 three months ago

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(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)