Ulta says people are keeping their beauty routines post-pandemic, retailer raises outlook for the year

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc.
ULTA,
-3.48%
rose 2% in the extended session Thursday after the specialty retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its outlook for fiscal 2023, saying that people are keeping their beauty habits post-pandemic. Ulta earned $300 million, or $6.02 a share, in the quarter, compared with $295.7 million, or $5.70, a year ago. FactSet consensus called for EPS of $5.28. Sales rose 10% to $2.5 billion, the company said, which were in line with expectations. Comparable-store sales were up 8%. For the fiscal year, Ulta called for net sales of $11.05 billion to $11.15 billion, compared with a previous outlook of sales of $11.0 billion to $11.1 billion. It raised its EPS guidance to $25.10 to $25.60, from a previous estimate of EPS of $24.70 to $25.40. “The beauty category has continued to deliver healthy growth, as consumers maintain their post-pandemic routines and expand their definition of beauty,” Chief Executive Dave Kimbell said. “Our proven business model, diverse assortment, best-in-class loyalty program, and outstanding teams have enabled us to deliver stronger-than expected results for the first half of fiscal 2023, and I remain confident we can deliver against our updated expectations for the rest of the year.” Shares of Ulta ended the regular trading day down 3.5%.