Premarket price
$531.86
−1.52%
12,750 shares before hours
Ulta Beauty Shares Drop 1.5% After Q2 Results Exceed Estimates and 2026 Outlook Raised
Ulta Beauty stock fell on Friday, even after the company surpassed quarterly expectations and raised its full-year outlook. The 1.5% drop before the market opened wiped out roughly $350 million in implied market capitalization.
Ulta Beauty · NASDAQ: ULTA
Beat, raise — then a cautious tape
Fiscal Q2 2026 results versus the prior-year quarter and previous company outlook
Market data: Aug. 28, 2026, 08:06 EDT
Financial data: Aug. 27, 2026, 16:05 EDT
Financial data: Aug. 27, 2026, 16:05 EDT
Quarterly sales
$3.036B
+8.9% YoY
Comparable sales +3.8%
Diluted EPS
$6.55
+13.3% YoY
LSEG consensus: $6.19
Market value
$23.22B
≈−$350M
Implied by the 1.52% move
Quarter: growth outran margin expansion
GrowthMarginValues reported Aug. 27, 2026
Why shares hesitated
The quarter beat consensus, but comparable growth slowed from 6.7% a year earlier and gross margin eased 10 basis points.
High expectations
Space NK mix
Comp deceleration
Marketing intensity
The one-month gain was 5.32% through Aug. 27, leaving less room for a merely good print.
Guidance: every major line moved higher
| Fiscal 2026 | Prior | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales growth | 6.0%–7.0% | 6.7%–7.2% |
| Comparable sales | 2.5%–3.5% | 3.2%–3.7% |
| Operating income growth | 6.5%–9.0% | 8.3%–9.3% |
| Diluted EPS | $28.36–$28.80 | $28.70–$29.00 |
| Fiscal-year repurchases | $1.5B | $1.8B |
Capital allocation and balance sheet
Bars share a $2.4 billion scale. Repurchases can support per-share earnings, but debt exceeds cash plus short-term investments.
Investor checklist
| Signal | Current read | What changes the view |
|---|---|---|
| Demand | 3.8% comps; no reported trade-down | Holiday traffic and prestige mix |
| Margin | 39.1% gross; 12.5% operating | Space NK mix and markdowns |
| Inventory | $2.4B, roughly flat YoY | Sell-through versus new launches |
| Capital returns | $1.8B fiscal-year plan | Execution against $1.0B authorization remaining |
| Valuation | 20.24× trailing EPS | Evidence that raised guidance is conservative |
Sources
Ulta Beauty results
Reuters earnings report
MarketWatch quote
Google Finance listing
All figures are company-reported or cited to the timestamped market sources above. Rounded totals may not sum exactly.
Ulta Beauty Shares Dip 2.9% After Hours Even as Outlook Lifted
Ulta Beauty shares declined 2.89% in after-hours trading on Thursday, erasing gains seen earlier following the company's release of higher sales and profit outlooks.
NASDAQ: ULTA · Q2 FY2026
Ulta Beauty: beat, raise, reverse
After-hours quote: Aug. 27, 2026, 18:30 ET
Financials: quarter ended Aug. 1, 2026
Financials: quarter ended Aug. 1, 2026
After-hours price
$524.47
−2.89% from $540.10 close
Market value erased
≈$670M
From $23.22B regular-close cap
Q2 net sales
$3.036B
+8.9% year over year
Trading activity
1.23M
≈2.1× recent average volume
The earnings paradox
Revenue beat consensus by roughly $76 million and EPS beat by $0.36, yet the stock reversed lower. The raised annual EPS midpoint increased less than 1%, while gross margin slipped 10 basis points.
Wall Street setup before results
17 Buy · 4 Hold · 1 Sell
Average target $625.10, 15.7% above the $540.10 close
Quarterly scorecard
| Metric | Q2 FY25 | Q2 FY26 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | $2.788B | $3.036B | +8.9% |
| Comparable sales | 6.7% | 3.8% | −290 bp |
| Gross margin | 39.2% | 39.1% | −10 bp |
| Operating income | $344.9M | $379.6M | +10.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $5.78 | $6.55 | +13.3% |
Fiscal-2026 guidance
| Metric | Prior | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| Sales growth | 6.0%–7.0% | 6.7%–7.2% |
| Comparable sales | 2.5%–3.5% | 3.2%–3.7% |
| Operating-income growth | 6.5%–9.0% | 8.3%–9.3% |
| Diluted EPS | $28.36–$28.80 | $28.70–$29.00 |
Repurchase plan
$1.8B
Raised from $1.5B for FY2026
First-half buybacks
$791.1M
1.4 million shares
Cash
$158.5M
Quarter-end
Short-term debt
$339.6M
Supports working capital and returns
Investor timeline
16:05 ETResults and raised outlook
Early after hoursShares initially gain about 2%
18:30 ETShares reverse to −2.89%
Watch: Space NK mix, comparable-sales deceleration, gross margin, inventory, consumer confidence and cash funding for repurchases.
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Stock Market Today 19.11.2025
ENDEDLive coverage has endedEnded: November 20, 2025, 12:00 AM EST Ulta Beauty Stock Sinks as Market Gains; Investors Eye Q2 Earnings November 19, 2025, 11:58 PM EST. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) closed at $497.72, down 1.9% as the broader market rose. The decline lagged the S&P 500 gain of 0.38%, while the Dow plus 0.1% and Nasdaq +0.59% helped lift sentiment. Over the last month, ULTA shed about 3.5%, trailing the Retail-Wholesale sector and the broader market. Investors will clamp to the upcoming earnings report, with consensus calling for EPS of $4.47 (down ~13% YoY) and revenue of $2.71B (up ~7%).
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