Latest news with #UltaBeauty
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
MPD investigating multiple theft incidents at Ulta Beauty
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Midland Police Department has asked for help from the community to identify theft suspects in two different cases. According to Crime Stoppers, on May 21, the woman pictured below reportedly entered Ulta Beauty and placed two Dolce and Gabbana perfumes into her bag. Investigators said she then exited the store without paying. Anyone with information about this suspect has been asked to call Crime Stoppers at 432-694-TIPS and reference case number 250522300. Additionally, on May 23, investigators said the woman pictured below entered Ulta Beauty and selected several cosmetic items and then left without paying. In all, she reportedly walked away with more than $900 worth of merchandise. Anyone with information about that suspect has been asked to call Crime Stoppers and reference case number 250525300. You may also submit your anonymous tips online or by using the P3 TIPS mobile app. If your tip leads to an arrest, it could be worth a cash reward. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Globe and Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Taking Stock of the Earnings Picture
The earnings release from Nvidia NVDA is the true highlight of this week's earnings docket, though there are a few other bellwethers on deck to report results as well, including Costco COST, CRM, and Ulta Beauty ULTA. We have close to 100 companies reporting results this week, including 14 S&P 500 members. It is no exaggeration to say that Nvidia has emerged as a leader of the broader artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, with its chips running the models. The stock has struggled this year, as sentiment on the AI space soured in the aftermath of the DeepSeek announcement in January. There had already been some angst in the market about the ever-rising AI-focused spending by Mag 7 players like Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft, with the issue becoming front and center following the DeepSeek announcement. The chart below shows the year-to-date performance of Nvidia shares relative to the S&P 500 index and the Mag 7 group. Nvidia is expected to bring in 85 cents in EPS on $42.6 billion in revenues, representing year-over-year changes of +39.3% and +63.7%, respectively. Estimates have been under pressure, with the current 85 cents estimate down from 87 cents a week ago and 93 cents two months back. A big contributing factor to the pressure on estimates has been worries among analysts that Nvidia's near-term margins may face some squeeze as it transitions to the new Blackwell GPU from the Hopper unit. There had been some concern over the last couple of quarters about Nvidia's ability to ramp up Blackwell production efficiently, but all indications are that the ramp-up is proceeding smoothly and the demand for the unit is significantly above what had been experienced in the comparable period the year before for Hopper. Jensen Huang, the Nvidia CEO, noted at a recent industry conference that Blackwell demand from the four largest hyperscalers was running three times as much as was the case from the same customers for Hopper at the comparable period in 2024. The company has outlined a Blackwell Ultra version to follow the full Blackwell ramp-up. While hyperscaler demand over the near-to-medium-term is expected to remain robust, it will eventually taper off. But the recent announcements of major datacenter deals with sovereign wealth funds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia suggest that Nvidia likely has a big runway ahead of it. In terms of valuation, Nvidia shares aren't cheap, but they are hardly the nose-bleed valuation of a couple of years back, as the chart below shows. With Nvidia as the only Mag 7 member that has yet to report Q1 results, earnings for the group are on track to +27.2% from the same period last year on +12.2% higher revenues. You can see this Q1 earnings growth in the chart below, which also shows the deceleration in the Mag 7 group's earnings growth over the coming periods. Beyond Nvidia, the earnings focus will remain on big-box retailers, with Costco coming out with results. Costco has been a true category leader, with a higher-income customer group that is loyal to the company's value offerings. Costco is better positioned to navigate the uncertain tariff environment than many other retailers. The company's U.S. business accounts for more than 70% of its revenues, and two-thirds of the merchandise in Costco U.S. is sourced domestically. Of the imported merchandise, roughly one-third of the total comes from China, Mexico, and Canada combined, and no one country is a dominant supplier. Costco is expected to report $4.25 per share in earnings on $63.1 billion in revenues, representing year-over-year changes of +12.4% and +7.9%, respectively. Estimates have inched up since the quarter got underway, with the current $4.25 estimate up from $4.24 a month back and $4.23 two months ago. Costco's earnings and revenues in the current fiscal year (ends in August 2025) are expected to increase +11.5% and +7.9% from the preceding year's levels, respectively. The company remains well-positioned to sustain this growth momentum in the following year as well on the back of mid-single-digit comp growth and growth in membership fee income in high-single digits. No doubt, the stock has been a standout performer, handily outperforming the broader market (+10.3% vs. -1.2%) in the year-to-date period. With respect to the Retail sector 2025 Q1 earnings season scorecard, we now have results from 28 of the 33 retailers in the S&P 500 index. Regular readers know that Zacks has a dedicated stand-alone economic sector for the retail space, unlike the placement of the space in the Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary sectors in the Standard & Poor's standard industry classification. The Zacks Retail sector includes Costco, Walmart, other traditional retailers, online vendors like Amazon AMZN, and restaurant players. Total Q1 earnings for these 28 retailers that have reported are up +11.2% from the same period last year on +5% higher revenues, with 60.7% beating EPS estimates and only 57.1% beating revenue estimates. The comparison charts below put the Q1 beats percentages for these retailers in a historical context. As you can see above, the EPS and revenue beats percentages for these companies are tracking significantly below the historical averages for this group of companies. Concerning the elevated earnings growth rate at this stage, we like to show the group's performance with and without Amazon, whose results are among the 28 companies that have reported already. As we know, Amazon's Q1 earnings were up +42.6% on +8.6% higher revenues, beating EPS and top-line expectations. As we all know, the digital and brick-and-mortar operators have been converging for some time now. Amazon is now a decent-sized brick-and-mortar operator after Whole Foods and Walmart is a growing online vendor. This long-standing trend got a huge boost from the COVID-19 lockdowns. The two comparison charts below show the Q1 earnings and revenue growth relative to other recent periods, both with Amazon's results (left side chart) and without Amazon's numbers (right side chart). As you can see above, earnings for the group outside of Amazon are down -5% on a +3.8% top-line gain, which points to margin pressures for the group. The Q1 Earnings Scorecard Through Friday, May 23 rd, we have seen Q1 results from 478 S&P 500 members or 95.6% of the index's total membership. With less than two dozen S&P 500 members still to report results at this stage, the Q1 reporting cycle has actually ended for 10 of the 16 Zacks sectors, with just a few companies still left to report for each of the remaining 6 sectors. Earnings for these 478 index members that have reported results are up +11.6% from the same period last year on +4.3% revenue gains, with 74.3% of the companies beating EPS estimates and 63% beating revenue estimates. The comparison charts below put the Q1 earnings and revenue growth rates for these index members in a historical context. The comparison charts below put the Q1 EPS and revenue beats percentages in a historical context. As you can see here, the EPS and revenue beats percentages are tracking below historical averages, with the Q1 EPS beats percentage of 74.3% comparing to the average for the same group of 78.3% over the preceding 20-quarter period (5 years). The Q1 revenue beats percentage of 63% compares to the 5-year average for this group of index members of 71.1%. Is the Turnaround in Estimates for Real? Looking at Q1 as a whole, combining the actuals from the 478 S&P 500 members with estimates for the still-to-come companies, the expectation is that earnings will be up +12.3% from the same period last year on +4.6% higher revenues, which would follow the +14.1% earnings growth on +5.7% revenue gains in the preceding period. The chart below shows current earnings and revenue growth expectations for 2025 Q1 in the context of where growth has been over the preceding four quarters and what is currently expected for the following three quarters. We have been flagging consistently in recent weeks that estimates for the current period (2025 Q2) have been coming down, as you can see in the chart below. The magnitude of cuts to 2025 Q2 estimates since the start of the period is bigger and more widespread relative to what we have become used to seeing in the post-COVID period. But you have likely noticed in recent weeks that we have been pointing to signs of stabilization in Tech sector estimates, both for Q2 as well as full-year 2025. The chart below shows how Tech sector earnings estimates for the period appear to bottom in the second half of April, but may have started coming down again. We see this same trend at play in annual estimates as well. The chart below shows the Tech sector's evolving earnings expectations for full-year 2025. We knew something was up, as the early signs of these revision trends started showing up in the data. It may be premature to say that the trend has completely reversed. But it nevertheless shows that the revisions trend has stabilized. The chart below shows the overall earnings picture on a calendar-year basis. For more details about the evolving earnings picture, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report here >>>> A Closer Look At Retail Earnings 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.0% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report Salesforce Inc. (CRM): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Free Stock Analysis Report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
How Should You Play Ulta Beauty Stock Ahead of Q1 Earnings Release?
Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA is slated to report its first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings on May 29, after market close. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $2.79 billion, suggesting a 2.2% increase from the prior-year quarter's reported figure. Although the consensus mark for quarterly earnings has moved up by a couple of cents in the last seven days to $5.75 per share, the projection indicates a decline of 11.1% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. ULTA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of almost 9%, on average. As investors prepare for Ulta Beauty's fiscal first-quarter announcement, the question looms regarding earnings beat or miss. Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for ULTA this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat, which is exactly the case Beauty has an Earnings ESP of +0.23% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Ulta Beauty Inc. price-eps-surprise | Ulta Beauty Inc. Quote Ulta Beauty continues to lead the beauty retail space by integrating mass, prestige and luxury brands within an engaging shopping experience. The company gains from several key growth drivers, including its strong omni-channel strategy that balances physical retail expansion with digital innovation, such as enhanced mobile app features and AI-driven personalization, which have boosted customer engagement and sales. Continued investments in marketing and social platforms are expanding brand visibility, while its strategic focus on strengthening product assortment and loyalty engagement supports addition, Ulta Beauty's emphasis on skincare, one of the fastest-growing beauty segments, is delivering growth, fueled by strong performances from Sol de Janeiro and TATCHA. These combined efforts across product innovation, digital transformation and brand partnerships position the company well for first-quarter fiscal Beauty's performance in the fiscal first quarter faces pressure from rising selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses. This increase is primarily due to strategic investments, higher advertising costs and elevated store payroll and benefits. Our model suggests SG&A expenses as a percentage of net sales increase by 220 basis points to 26.6% for the fiscal first quarter. In addition, margin performance is likely to have been impacted by lower merchandise margins and increased supply chain expenses. Another ongoing challenge is the persistent decline in Ulta Beauty's Makeup category, which poses a risk to its growth momentum. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Ulta Beauty has witnessed an impressive surge in its stock price over the past three months. The stock has rallied 12.8%, outpacing the Zacks Retail - Miscellaneous industry's decline of 7.1%.From a valuation standpoint, Ulta Beauty stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 17.25, slightly above the industry average of 16.12. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Ulta Beauty remains a strong player in the beauty retail space, supported by a robust omni-channel strategy, a growing skincare category and a loyal customer base. While the company's long-term fundamentals appear solid, near-term headwinds — such as rising SG&A expenses, margin pressure and softness in the makeup category — may weigh on fiscal first-quarter performance. Despite these challenges, the stock's recent outperformance and fair valuation suggest limited downside. Given the balanced risk-reward profile and the potential for long-term growth, investors may consider holding ULTA stock for now. Here are some more companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting Below, Inc. FIVE currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.18% and a Zacks Rank of 3. FIVE is likely to register a top-line increase when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $961.1 million, indicating an 18.4% rise from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks consensus estimate for Five Below's EPS is pegged at 80 cents, implying a 33.3% jump from the year-ago quarter. FIVE delivered an earnings surprise of 3% in the last GAP has an Earnings ESP of +3.03% and a Zacks Rank of 3 at present. GAP is likely to register top-line growth when it releases first-quarter 2025 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $3.42 billion, which implies growth of 0.8% from the figure reported in the year-ago consensus estimate for GAP's quarterly EPS has increased by a penny in the past 30 days to 44 cents, implying growth of 7.3% from the year-ago quarter's number. GAP delivered an earnings surprise of 77.5%, on average, in the trailing four Stores BURL has an Earnings ESP of +3.45% and currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3. BURL's top line is anticipated to advance year over year when it reports first-quarter fiscal 2025 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its quarterly revenues is pegged at $2.52 billion, which suggests a 6.9% rise from the figure reported in the year-ago consensus estimate for Burlington Stores' first-quarter earnings is pegged at $1.40 per share, unchanged year over year. BURL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 17.9%, on average. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Gap, Inc. (GAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oppenheimer Reiterates Buy Rating on Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Ahead of Earnings
On May 20, Oppenheimer increased the price target on Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock from $435 to $465, reiterating a Buy rating on the stock. Rupesh Parikh from Oppenheimer has raised the price target as he expects Ulta Beauty to meet financial targets ahead of its earnings on May 29. Wall Street expects Ulta Beauty to post earnings of $5.76 per share and the company has exceeded estimates in 7 out of the last 8 quarters. Parikh believes that the company is well-positioned to achieve its FY2025 guidance, expecting 0-1% sales growth and EPS between $22.50 to $22.90. The analyst sees solid in-store execution and a promotional backdrop to support sustainable performance. The company may benefit from limited exposure to tariffs and potential closures of Kohl's stores. Parikh mentioned that he is encouraged by the strategic direction of Ulta Beauty under new CEO Kecia Steelman. The analyst believes that ULTA is in a better position to sustain its company's competitive position against its peers, including Amazon and Walmart. Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) is a leading speciality beauty retailer in the U.S. It offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, haircare, skincare, fragrance, salon styling, and bath and body products, in shop-in-shops, its stores, its mobile application, and website. While we acknowledge the potential of ULTA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ULTA and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. Read Next: and . Disclosure. None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates: Can the Stock Move Higher?
The market expects Ulta Beauty (ULTA) to deliver a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when it reports results for the quarter ended April 2025. This widely-known consensus outlook is important in assessing the company's earnings picture, but a powerful factor that might influence its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The stock might move higher if these key numbers top expectations in the upcoming earnings report, which is expected to be released on May 29. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. This beauty products retailer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $5.75 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -11.1%. Revenues are expected to be $2.79 billion, up 2.2% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 0.31% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that an aggregate change may not always reflect the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts. Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. This insight is at the core of our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction). The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). For Ulta, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of +0.23%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination indicates that Ulta will most likely beat the consensus EPS estimate. While calculating estimates for a company's future earnings, analysts often consider to what extent it has been able to match past consensus estimates. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Ulta would post earnings of $7.10 per share when it actually produced earnings of $8.46, delivering a surprise of +19.15%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates three times. An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Ulta appears a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
