New York, April 28, 2026, 11:01 (EDT)
Ulta Beauty Inc. shares edged lower Tuesday, continuing a retreat that’s weighing on the U.S. beauty retailer’s growth narrative—despite its latest push into AI-powered shopping. The stock was off 0.4% to $537.44 during mid-morning, putting Ulta’s market value around $24.1 billion.
This shift gives investors some breathing room—Ulta’s next quarterly earnings call isn’t until June 2, so there’s time to assess whether management’s 2026 strategy is still on track. Ulta is betting that digital initiatives, sharper loyalty data, and quicker marketing will drive demand, not costs.
Ulta shares dropped 3.38% on Monday, settling at $539.66, according to MarketWatch data. That’s the second consecutive decline, leaving the stock 24.52% below its Feb. 18 peak of $714.97. Target added 0.36% for the session, while Sally Beauty lost 3.46%.
Investors got a mixed signal from Ulta’s March update. The company posted a 9.7% bump in fiscal 2025 net sales, hitting $12.39 billion, with comparable sales up 5.4%. Looking ahead, Ulta projects net sales growth for fiscal 2026 of between 6% and 7%, and expects diluted earnings per share to climb 9.4% to 11.4%. “Closed the year with momentum,” Chief Executive Kecia Steelman said. Ulta Beauty
Ulta’s strategy is pushing past physical locations. On April 22, the company and Google announced shoppers will soon be able to buy Ulta products directly through Google’s AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app, with rollout set over the next month. Ulta also debuted Ulta AI, its own shopping assistant, now live on Ulta.com and expected to hit the app next. “The idea is seamless, personalized, shoppable discovery—wherever people are,” said Lauren Brindley, Ulta’s chief merchandising and digital officer. Ulta Beauty
This push isn’t happening on its own. According to Retail Dive, Google has folded Walmart into Gemini shopping as well. That highlights a wider scramble by major retailers to link product discovery and checkout, with shoppers turning to AI tools at the start of their buying journeys.
Ulta popped up in the marketing headlines this week as well. At Tamara Group’s launch event Monday in Miami—VaynerX’s latest agency—Ulta was listed as one of the initial partners, joining as an existing client with either extended work or more niche assignments. “Content volume has become the new version of quality and quantity,” said Tamara Group CEO Ryan Harwood. Marketing Dive
Wall Street hasn’t let go of Ulta. On April 20, Jefferies boosted the stock to Buy from Hold and raised its price target to $700, up from $635. They pointed to greater confidence in revenue staying power, a rebound in makeup sales, and improvements in merchandising. Jefferies also noted that forecasts for SG&A—covering marketing, payroll, and other corporate expenses—have now been set at what it called a more reasonable mark.
Margin pressure hasn’t gone away. Back in March, Reuters noted Ulta shares tumbled the most they had in nearly two years, after cost increases rattled investors. SG&A expenses soared 23% in the December quarter. Around the same time, Steelman flagged concerns about global conflicts and their possible hit to the economy.
The stock sits in a tight spot. Beauty demand’s holding up, and Ulta keeps its size advantage. Still, investors are waiting to see whether AI-driven shopping, TikTok-inspired discovery and quicker content will actually pull in shoppers—or just become another expense.
At the moment, Ulta isn’t being lumped in with the straightforward beauty winners; instead, investors want proof that its latest channel pivot will actually deliver returns. Come June, the earnings call isn’t just about the topline—it needs to show more than the usual.
