Ulta Beauty Stock Drops After Worse-Than-Expected Q2 Results, Lower FY Guidance

Ulta Beauty Inc. ULTA reported its second-quarter financial results after Thursday's closing bell. Here's a look at the key figures from the report. 

The Details: Ulta Beauty reported quarterly earnings of $5.30 per share, which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $5.55 by 4.5%. Quarterly sales came in at $2.552 billion, missing the consensus estimate by 2.52%.

• Comparable sales decreased 1.2%, driven by a 1.8% decrease in transactions and a 0.6% increase in average ticket.
• Merchandise inventories, net at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 10.1% to $2 billion. The increase was primarily due to inventory to support new brand launches, the opening of the new market fulfillment center in Greer, South Carolina, and the addition of 49 net new stores since July 29, 2023.

“While we are encouraged by many positive indicators across our business, our second quarter performance did not meet our expectations, driven primarily by a decline in comparable store sales. We are clear about the factors that adversely impacted our store performance, and we have actions underway to address the trends,” said Dave Kimbell, CEO of Ulta Beauty.

“We are focused on driving stronger sales and traffic and continuing to exercise financial discipline. In light of our first-half trends and a more cautious outlook, we have updated our full-year expectations. I remain confident in the power of our differentiated model, the strength of our financial foundation, and our ability to deliver value for our shareholders over the long term.”

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Outlook: Ulta cut its fiscal year net sales guidance from between $11.5 billion and $11.6 billion to between $11 billion and $11.2 billion and cut its fiscal year earnings guidance from between $25.20 and $26.00 per share to between $22.60 and $23.50 per share.

ULTA Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, Ulta Beauty shares are down 6.96% after-hours at $342 at the time of publication Thursday.

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