Ulta Beauty has projected a challenging 2025, indicating a slowdown even in the typically resilient beauty sector. Despite beating analyst forecasts for the holiday quarter, Ulta issued weaker-than-expected full-year profit and revenue guidance. The retailer anticipates comparable sales to be flat or grow by just 1% in 2025, lower than the 1.2% growth analysts had forecasted. Additionally, full-year earnings are expected to range between $22.50 and $22.90 per share, below the anticipated $23.47.
In the fiscal fourth quarter, Ulta reported earnings per share of $8.46, surpassing the expected $7.12, with revenue at $3.49 billion compared to the projected $3.46 billion. However, sales dropped by about 2% year-over-year due to an extra selling week in the prior year, which negatively impacted results.
Kecia Steelman, the newly appointed CEO, emphasized that 2025 will be pivotal as the company invests in future growth and optimizes its business. Although Ulta outperformed expectations during the holiday quarter with a 1.5% increase in comparable sales, transactions decreased by 1.4%, reflecting heightened competition from rivals like Sephora and mass retailers such as Macy’s, Walmart, and Amazon.
— news from CNBC