Ulta Beauty Stock Gains As Q4 Results Surpass Expectations, Guides FY22 Above Consensus, Approves $2B Buyback

Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA reported fourth-quarter net sales growth of 24.1% year-over-year to $2.70 billion and core sales growth of 28%, beating the consensus of $2.69 billion.
Comparable sales increased 21.4% compared to a decrease of 4.8% in 4Q20. Compared to 4Q19 comparable sales increased 15.4%.
Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $254.7 million, or 11.6% of net sales.
EPS improved to $5.41 from $3.03 in 4Q20, beating the consensus of $4.57.
The gross margin expanded by 257 bps to 37.6%. The operating margin expanded by 356 bps to 13.8%.
As a percentage of net sales, SG&A expenses increased to 23.8% compared to 23.4% in 4Q20.
Ulta generated cash by operating activities of $1.06 billion, compared to $810.36 million a year ago.
The company held cash and cash equivalents of $431.6 million at the end of the fiscal.
During the quarter, ULTA repurchased 1.9 million shares at the cost of $759.8 million. During FY21, 2021, 4.2 million shares for $1.5 billion.
The company approved a new share repurchase authorization of $2 billion on March 7, which replaces the prior authorization implemented in March 2020.
FY22 Outlook: Ulta Beauty expects net sales of $9.05 billion to $9.15 billion versus $8.59 billion consensus and comparable sales growth of 3% to 4%.
It expects Operating margin of 13.7% to 14.0%, and EPS of $18.20 to $18.70, versus $17.18
Price Action: ULTA shares are trading higher by 1.25% at $384.10 during the post-market session on Thursday.
Photo via wikimedia Commons

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