Ulta took off like a beautified bottle rocket after its earnings report last night, but unlike Big Lots, we’re playing the game of How Low Can Your Expectations Go?!
Adjusted for one-time items and costs, here’s how Ulta stacked up:
Revenue: $1.23 billion, versus expectations of $1.25 billion.
Earnings: $0.73 per share, versus expectations for $0.06 per share.
So a runaway beat on earnings and a slight revenue miss. Not too shabby, but how does it compete against those dreamy pre-pandemic quarters? Not great … and that’s why ULTA gave back much of today’s 13%-plus rally.
See, when we compare Ulta’s stats against last year’s backdrop, the twinkle in Ulta’s earnings eye shadow loses its shimmer, to mix metaphors. This quarter’s results are streets apart from the $2.72 per share in earnings a year ago.
And the 26% drop in sales doesn’t save Ulta any face either. While online sales more than tripled this quarter — It has to be that new Harry Potter product line, right — Ulta CEO Mary Dillon still expects that sales “…sales will continue to be challenged for the rest of the year.”
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