Though beauty is typically considered a discretionary category, consumers keep spending on it despite macroeconomic uncertainty.
Ulta Beauty’s second quarter earnings report in August seems to demonstrate resilience in the category. In her own words, CEO Kecia Steelman told analysts on a call that “beauty enthusiasts tell us that they're prioritizing their beauty regimens and remain strongly engaged” in a category often considered nonessential.
The beauty retailer reported Q2 net sales increased 9.3% year over year to $2.8 billion and raised its full-year guidance.
Trends across the U.S. beauty and wellness industry largely remain healthy, per an Aug. 29 note from TD Cowen analysts.
Although Ulta saw growth across various performance metrics, industry analysts were curious about operating margin. The retailer expects operating margins for the full year in a range of 11.9% and 12%.
“Key investor debates do exist around … timeline for [operating] margin to return to historical 14-16% vs. 12% guidance this year in the context of Ulta's preference to optimize for dollars vs. margin,” TD Cowen analysts added.
Analysts on the earnings call pressed leadership about operating margin goals in several ways. Executives expressed that 12% operating margin reflects a more normalized environment, with the days of higher numbers likely being a thing of the past, per an Aug. 28 note from Jefferies analysts.
“It's a balancing act, but we're really focusing on operating profit dollars,” Steelman said on the earnings call.
For its overall Q2 performance, Steelman attributed success to a commitment to its core business through a focus on retail fundamentals, improved in-store execution and an elevated go-to-market approach.
“As we look to the future, we remain focused on controlling what we can control, executing our plans with excellence, and building on our momentum to drive future growth,” Steelman added.
One growth area Ulta is betting on is the health and wellness category.
Ulta debuted a dedicated wellness space in stores in 2023. The retailer’s chief executive told analysts that it just expanded these offerings to an additional 370 stores in the footprint, with another 50 in the works.
“We have about 150 brands and 700 SKUs with this focus on self-care, but we do recognize this wellness market is large and growing, and it's really driven by consumer engagement and product innovation,” Steelman said. “It's growing faster than beauty right now, but it's complex and it's personal.”
TD Cowen analysts said the acceleration of wellness and the logistical needs it requires (such as building out associated services and training modules) should remain a focus for the company.
Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar cannibalization (a topic of discussion during the earnings call Q&A section) continues to be top of mind for some analysts as well.
“We still see the largest risk as cannibalization of the retail channel from accelerating online migration, which we believe lingers as current year investment spending headwinds ease,” William Blair analysts added.
