Ulta Beauty raises annual sales, profit forecasts on strong beauty demand

FREE Breaking News Alerts from StreetInsider.com!

E-mail Address

StreetInsider.com Top Tickers, 8/27/2026

1. NVDA
2. OKTA
3. CRM
4. CRWD
5. VEEV
6. P
7. KKR
8. HPQ
9. NTNX
10. SPY

August 27, 2026 4:12 PM EDT

FILE PHOTO: People walk past an Ulta Beauty store in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo

Aug 27 (Reuters) - Cosmetics retailer ‌Ulta Beauty raised ​its ​annual sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting that marketing and product assortment investments would drive demand even as ‌macroeconomic uncertainty looms.

Shares of the company, which also reported a ⁠quarterly results beat, were up about 2% in extended trading.

Higher-income consumers and young ‌shoppers continue to splurge on ‌trendy and higher-margin fragrance and makeup brands despite sticky inflation, bolstering sales for companies such as Ulta Beauty.

The Bolingbrook, Illinois-based company has ​also been gaining from an uptick in demand for affordable cosmetics brands such as Elf Beauty.

The company, which is in the ⁠midst of a turnaround under CEO Kecia Steelman, has relied on celebrity-owned brands such as ​Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Beyonce's Cecred to attract young and affluent shoppers.

"Shaky consumer confidence may even be working ​in Ulta Beauty's favor by reinforcing ‌the 'lipstick effect' – the tendency for consumers to continue spending on smaller, affordable luxuries like beauty products while pulling ⁠back on bigger-ticket discretionary purchases," research firm Placer.ai said.

The company expects full-year sales to grow between 6.7% and 7.2%, up from its prior forecast of ⁠6% to 7%.

It now expects fiscal 2026 comparable sales to grow in the range ​of 3.2% to 3.7%, compared with a prior forecast of a 2.5% to 3.5% rise.

Ulta expects annual earnings per share in the range of $28.70 to $29, compared ‌with its prior forecast of $28.36 to $28.80 per share.

The company posted a quarterly sales rise of 8.9% to $3.04 billion, ‌compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.96 billion, according to data compiled by ⁠LSEG.

Ulta's quarterly earnings per share ‌of $6.55 topped estimates of $6.19.

(Reporting ​by Koyena Das and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru and Arriana McLymore in New York City; Editing by ‌Vijay Kishore)


Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Reuters

Related Entities

Earnings