TLDR
- Ulta Beauty reported Q2 EPS of $6.55, beating the $6.17 estimate by $0.38
- Revenue rose 8.9% year-over-year to $3.04 billion, topping the $2.98 billion estimate
- Comparable sales grew 3.8%, down from 6.7% in the same quarter last year
- Full-year EPS guidance was raised to $28.70-$29.00, up from $28.36-$28.80
- The stock fell nearly 3% in premarket trading Friday despite the beat
Ulta Beauty posted Q2 earnings Wednesday that topped Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines, but the stock gave back early gains and dropped close to 3% in premarket trading Friday. The stock was trading around $524 in premarket, down from Wednesday’s close near $540.
Adjusted EPS came in at $6.55, clearing the $6.17 analyst estimate. Revenue hit $3.04 billion, up 8.9% year-over-year and above the $2.98 billion consensus.
Comparable sales rose 3.8% in the quarter. That is solid, but worth noting it was a step down from the 6.7% comp growth posted in Q2 last year.
$ULTA BEAUTY Q2’26 EARNINGS HIGHLIGHTS
🔹 Revenue: $3.0B (Est. $2.96B) 🟢; +8.9% YoY
🔹 EPS: $6.55 (Est. $6.18) 🟢; +13.3% YoY
🔹 Comparable Sales: 3.8%; -290 bps YoY
🔹 Operating Income: $379.6M; +10.1% YoYFY26 Guide:
🔹 Net Sales Growth: 6.7%-7.2%; from 6%-7%
🔹 Comparable… pic.twitter.com/Ef19zUjiXI— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) August 27, 2026
Operating income climbed 10.1% to $379.6 million. Gross margin came in at 39.1%, just a tick lower than the 39.2% recorded a year ago, with the Space NK business mix cited as the reason.
Guidance Gets a Lift
Ulta raised its full-year outlook. The company now expects EPS of $28.70 to $29.00, compared to the prior range of $28.36 to $28.80. Net sales growth guidance moved to 6.7% to 7.2%, up from 6% to 7%. Comparable sales growth was bumped to a range of 3.2% to 3.7%, versus the previous 2.5% to 3.5%.
CEO Kecia Steelman said the quarter showed the team is “executing with discipline” and delivering on its Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy.
Bank of America analysts, led by Lorraine Hutchinson, called out the comp beat, margin protection, and guidance raise as addressing the key investor debates heading into the print. They reiterated their Buy rating.
Buyback Expanded
Ulta also increased its stock repurchase plan for fiscal 2026 from $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion. The company bought back 1.4 million shares for $791.1 million in the first half of the fiscal year. It expects to use the remaining $1.0 billion available under its current authorization by year-end.
Looking ahead, analysts expect revenue to grow around 4.7% over the next 12 months, a slight slowdown from the last three years. Ulta has been growing its store count at an average of 6.9% annually over the past two years.
The stock closed at $540.10 before earnings, then fell to $524.07 in Friday premarket trading.
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