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    Ulta’s Upgraded 2026 Outlook and Buybacks Could Be A Game Changer For Ulta Beauty (ULTA)

    Simply Wall St·08/28/2026 15:37:23
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    • Ulta Beauty reported past second-quarter 2026 results with sales of US$3,035.68 million and net income of US$282.01 million, lifting diluted EPS from US$5.78 to US$6.55 year on year.
    • Alongside raising full-year 2026 earnings guidance and expanding its buyback plan, Ulta deepened its prestige hair and textured-hair offerings through new partnerships with The Potion Studio and Bio Ionic.
    • With Ulta lifting its full-year earnings outlook, we’ll now examine how this guidance upgrade reshapes the company’s investment narrative.

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    Ulta Beauty Investment Narrative Recap

    To own Ulta Beauty, you need to believe it can keep turning its large store base and brand partnerships into solid, repeatable earnings, even as beauty shifts online and competition stays intense. The near term catalyst is execution on its refreshed 2026 earnings outlook; the biggest risk is that higher costs and a maturing US store base cap margin progress. The latest guidance raise supports the story but does not remove those pressures.

    The most relevant news here is Ulta’s higher 2026 earnings guidance, which now calls for net sales growth of 6.7% to 7.2% and diluted EPS of US$28.70 to US$29.00. This sits alongside a larger US$1.8 billion buyback plan and new prestige hair partnerships like The Potion Studio and Bio Ionic, both of which support the catalyst of growing higher margin categories while trying to offset rising store, labor, and investment costs.

    But while the updated guidance is encouraging, investors should still pay close attention to rising wage and occupancy costs, because these could...

    Read the full narrative on Ulta Beauty (it's free!)

    Ulta Beauty's narrative projects $14.9 billion revenue and $1.4 billion earnings by 2029. This requires 5.4% yearly revenue growth and roughly a $0.2 billion earnings increase from $1.2 billion today.

    Uncover how Ulta Beauty's forecasts yield a $627.25 fair value, a 16% upside to its current price.

    Exploring Other Perspectives

    ULTA 1-Year Stock Price Chart
    ULTA 1-Year Stock Price Chart

    Some of the most optimistic analysts were already assuming Ulta could reach about US$15.1 billion in revenue and US$1.5 billion in earnings by 2029, so this guidance upgrade may either reinforce that upbeat view or prompt a rethink of how realistic those margin and cost optimization assumptions really are.

    Explore 5 other fair value estimates on Ulta Beauty - why the stock might be worth just $568.01!

    Decide For Yourself

    Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own.

    • A great starting point for your Ulta Beauty research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
    • Our free Ulta Beauty research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Ulta Beauty's overall financial health at a glance.

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    This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.