Analysts also adjusted their outlooks following the results. Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow maintained an Underweight rating on Ulta Beauty while lowering his price forecast to $475 from $500. Meanwhile, TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen reiterated a Buy rating but trimmed his price forecast to $750 from $775.
Fourth Quarter Results
Ulta reported fourth-quarter EPS of $8.01, topping the Street estimate of $7.97. Revenue came in at $3.898 billion, beating the $3.802 billion consensus estimate and rising 11.75% from $3.488 billion a year earlier.
Comparable sales increased 5.8%, driven by a 4.2% rise in average ticket and a 1.6% increase in transactions.
Gross profit rose 11.2% to $1.5 billion, while gross margin edged slightly lower to 38.1% from 38.2%.
This was primarily due to unfavorable channel mix, deleverage of store fixed expenses, and deleverage of other revenue, mostly offset by lower inventory shrink and supply chain efficiencies.
SG&A expenses increased 23% to $1.0 billion, driven by higher corporate overhead, advertising spending, and incentive compensation.
Operating income was $476.9 million, or 12.2% of net sales, compared with $516.3 million, or 14.8%, a year earlier.
Full-Year Results
For fiscal 2025, net sales rose 9.7% to $12.4 billion, while comparable sales increased 5.4%, driven by a 3.3% increase in average ticket and a 2.0% rise in transactions.
Gross profit increased 10.4% to $4.8 billion, with gross margin improving to 39.1% from 38.8%. SG&A expenses rose 17.4% to $3.3 billion.
Operating income totaled $1.5 billion, or 12.4% of net sales, while diluted EPS increased 1.2% to $25.64.
Looking ahead, Ulta ...
