Ulta Beauty Inc.
ULTA,
on Thursday offered up a full-year forecast that was above Wall Street’s expectations, after enduring demand for beauty products and price hikes helped sales in the fourth quarter.
For the full year, Ulta Beauty said it expects $10.95 billion to $11.05 billion in revenue, with a 4% to 5% gain in same-store sales, and it forecast earnings per share of between $24.70 and $25.40. Those figures were above FactSet forecasts for earnings of $24.37 a share, with $10.74 billion in revenue and a 3.8% same-store sales increase.
The beauty-product and salon chain reported net income of $340.8 million, or $6.68 a share, compared with $289.4 million, or $5.41 a share, in the same quarter last year.
Sales for the fourth quarter rose 18.2% to $3.2 billion, compared with $2.7 billion in the prior-year quarter — helped by “continued resilience of the beauty category, retail price increases and the impact of new brands and product innovation.” Same-store sales were up 15.6%.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected Ulta to earn $5.70 a share, on revenue of $3.03 billion. They expected same-store sales gains of 8.7%.
Shares lost 1.9% after hours.
While retailers that sell clothing, electronics and other discretionary goods have tried to navigate wavering demand, demand for beauty products has been stronger, analysts say. A return to post-pandemic life — to offices and social gatherings — broader self-care trends, and new haircare and skincare products have helped buoy sales.
However, Ulta Beauty faces tough comparisons, following strong gains last year, and its stock is hovering near record highs, leading to caution among some analysts. Prior to the results, Cowen analyst Oliver Chen said he believed Ulta would “stay conservative” with its outlook.
Shares of Ulta have climbed 39.2% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
is down 8.1% over that period.
