A Consumer Pullback and Competition Hit Ulta Beauty’s Results. Its Stock Is Dropping

Shares of Ulta Beauty (ULTA) slumped after the seller of beauty products reported worse-than-expected results and cut its outlook on a surprise drop in comparable store sales.

Consumers limited their discretionary spending, the company said, while Ulta faced increased competition. The company posted second-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $5.30, with revenue rising 0.9% to $2.55 billion. Both were short of forecasts.

Comparable-store sales declined 1.2%, while analysts were looking for an increase. They were up 8% in the year-ago period. The company said the slide was driven by a 1.8% decrease in transactions and an 0.6% increase in average ticket.

Ulta Beauty shares, down more than 2% in morning trading, have lost nearly a third of their value this year.

CEO David Kimbell said while Ulta Beauty “anticipated the headwinds experienced in the first quarter would continue, our results were short of our expectations.” Consumers are increasingly focused on value and showing more caution in their spending, he said.  

Kimbell noted that “competitive intensity in the beauty category remains high,” and as a result, “our market share continues to be challenged, particularly within prestige beauty.”

The company now expects full-year diluted EPS to come in at $22.60 to $23.50, versus previous guidance of $25.20 to $26. It estimates sales to be in the range of $11 billion to $11.2 billion, lower than the earlier $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion. It predicts comparable store sales to be flat to down 2%, compared to up 2% to 3%.