Ulta Beauty

Beauty is a replenishment‑heavy, habit‑driven category. Ulta’s revenue base is diversified across mass and prestige, stores and e‑commerce, and anchored by a large loyalty cohort that repeats often. Recent quarters demonstrate steady comps growth and improved gross margin drivers; the company also raised its full‑year outlook.

While category growth is normalizing from the post‑pandemic surge and competition is intense, Ulta’s toll‑booth dynamics in beauty discovery and services, plus data‑driven CRM, create relatively stable mid‑cycle cash generation.

Risks are consumer trade‑down, brand rotation, and promotional intensity, yet the broad mix and data signal lower volatility than typical specialty retail.