Ulta Beauty Q3 Earnings Highlights: Comparable Sales Up 4.5%, Traffic Trends Remain Healthy, CFO Succession Plan And More

Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA reported third-quarter financial results after the bell on Thursday. Here's a look at the key metrics from the quarter.

Q3 Earnings: Ulta Beauty said third-quarter revenue increased 6.4% year-over-year to $2.49 billion, which beat the consensus estimate of $2.47 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The specialty beauty retailer reported quarterly earnings of $5.07 per share versus $5.34 per share in the prior year's quarter.

Comparable sales increased 4.5% year-over-year, driven by a 5.9% increase in transactions and a 1.4% decrease in average ticket.

Operating income totaled $327.2 million, and net income was $249.5 million. The company ended the quarter with $121.8 million in cash and equivalents. 

Ulta also added 12 new stores in the quarter, bringing total locations up to 1,374. 

"The third quarter represented another strong performance by the Ulta Beauty team, as sales, gross profit, and diluted EPS all exceeded our internal expectations. Our traffic trends remained healthy, our brand awareness increased, and we expanded our loyalty program to a record 42.2 million members," said Dave Kimbell, CEO of Ulta Beauty. 

Outlook: Ulta Beauty now expects full-year 2023 revenue of $11.1 billion to $11.15 billion. Full-year earnings are expected to be between $25.20 and $25.60 per share. Comparable sales are expected to grow 5% to 5.5%.

"As we look to the future, the outlook for the Beauty category is bright, and I am confident Ulta Beauty has the right plans in place to delight our guests this holiday season, expand our leadership position in specialty beauty retail, and deliver long-term shareholder growth."

Management Changes: Ulta also announced a CFO succession plan. The company said CFO Scott Settersten plans to retire, effective April 1, 2024. Paula Oyibo, senior vice president of finance, will take over for Settersten at that time.

Management will hold a conference call to discuss these results at 4:30 p.m. ET.

See Also: Salesforce Sees Strong Opportunity From Continued AI Adoption; 10 Of 12 Analysts Raise Their Forecasts

ULTA Price Action: Ulta Beauty shares were up 9.10% after hours at $464.94 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Mike Mozart from Flickr.