AI-extracted from the 10-Q filed 2026-08-27 — Q2 FY2026 (quarter ended August 1, 2026). Every figure is machine-verified against the filing text on SEC EDGAR.
Ulta Beauty Q2 revenue grew 8.9% YoY to $3.04B, driven by 3.8% comparable sales growth and Space NK acquisition, with net income up 8.1% to $282M.
Biggest Revenue Drivers
Largest Expense Items
Cost of sales$1,848.7M+8.9% YoY
Increased with sales; space NK business mix impact partially offset by lower shrink and higher merchandise margin.
Selling, general and administrative expenses$802.8M+8.2% YoY
Higher advertising expenses and corporate overhead, partially offset by lower incentive compensation.
Pre-opening expenses$4.5M-11.3% YoY
Costs for store expansion; 34 stores opened in first 26 weeks of FY2026.
Margins: Gross margin declined 10 bps to 39.1% YoY, primarily due to Space NK's lower-margin business mix. SG&A leverage was achieved despite higher advertising spend, with expenses declining 20 bps as a percentage of sales due to strategic investments and overhead absorption.
Watch Items from the Filing
Comparable sales deceleration: Q2 comp sales of 3.8% significantly slower than prior year's 6.7%, driven only by ticket growth with negative transaction impact.
Space NK acquisition impact: Acquired business carries lower gross margin (39.1% Q2 vs 39.2% prior year), pressuring consolidated profitability despite 8.9% top-line growth.
Interest expense swing: Quarterly net interest flipped from $1.4M income to $3.7M expense as short-term debt rose from $289M to $340M to fund $799M in share repurchases YTD.
Strong store expansion: 34 net new stores (1,622 total) and healthy inventory management at $2.4B flat YoY support medium-term growth runway in U.S. beauty market.
AI-extracted and verified against SEC EDGAR filing text. Not investment advice.
15 transactions in ULTA reported by 9 members of Congress under the STOCK Act, most recent trade Mar 19, 2026. Reported transactions, not recommendations.
About Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA): stock profile, AI score and financials
Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) stock profile, AI quality score, and SEC EDGAR financial data, a Consumer Discretionary sector company. 13F Pro's AI-powered ranking engine scores ULTA at 63.6/100 on a composite quality score built from its SEC filings, placing it at rank #602 of 2,925 stocks — the top 25% of the AI-ranked universe. ULTA scores in the top quartile across balance sheet strength (95.0), revenue scale (88.5), institutional flow (77.3). Areas of concern include earnings quality (39.8), which score below median versus the broader universe. Based on the latest XBRL financial filings (Q2 2027), Ulta Beauty, Inc. reports quarterly revenue of $3.0B, net income of $282.0M, an operating margin of 12.5%. Top institutional holders of ULTA by reported 13-F value include BlackRock, VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, Sanders Capital, based on the most recent SEC filings. ULTA trades on the Nasdaq exchange and files with the SEC under CIK 1403568. 13F Pro's AI research platform runs 10 specialized AI analysts — value, growth, momentum, macro, and activist specialists — that debate ULTA daily and publish AI-generated analysis with cited SEC sources. The platform aggregates historical XBRL financial facts, 10-Q and 10-K filings, insider Form 4 transactions, and institutional 13-F holdings for Ulta Beauty, Inc. directly from SEC EDGAR.