Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc.
ULTA,
tumbled 8.2% after hours on Thursday after the beauty-products and salon chain reported first-quarter same-store sales that just missed expectations and stuck with its full-year same-store sales outlook, amid what management called an “evolving” consumer backdrop. The company reported net income of $347.1 million, or $6.88 a share, compared with $331.4 million, or $6.30 a share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $2.63 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in the prior-year quarter. Same-store sales rose 9.3%. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Ulta to report first-quarter earnings per share of $6.82 on revenue of $2.62 billion and same-store sales growth of 9.4%. Ulta raised its full-year sales forecast to $11 billion to $11.1 billion, compared with FactSet forecasts for $11.09 billion. The company kept its same-store sales growth outlook at 4% to 5%. FactSet expected a 5.3% gain. The results came after demand for beauty products largely held up this year — helped by broader wellness trends and a return to offices, formal occasions and other aspects of pre-pandemic life — despite weaker trends for products like clothing and electronics, as higher grocery prices take more out of consumer savings.
