Ulta Beauty Inc
| Morningstar Rating for Stocks | Fair Value | Economic Moat | Capital Allocation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ^$F | LOCK|<#Nf | LOCK|&mg@&W<< |
Ulta Beauty Earnings: Sales and Margins Looking Better After Lowered Expectations; Shares Pricey
After offering disappointing guidance in August and at its analyst event in October, narrow-moat Ulta Beauty posted third-quarter results above our forecast. Although its comparable sales growth was muted (0.6%), it bettered our estimate of a 2% decline and the prior quarter’s 1.2% drop. Even so, competition from Sephora and others remains fierce, and expectations are not particularly high for either this holiday season or 2025. We expect to lift our $360 fair value estimate by a low-single-digit percentage but regard Ulta’s shares, up 12% in after-hours trading on Dec. 5, as overpriced.
