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Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Readies for Q4 Earnings: Is a Beat in Store?

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Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA - Free Report) is likely to register top and bottom-line growth when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 earnings on Mar 14. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $3.52 billion, which indicates an increase of almost 9% from the $3.23 billion reported in the prior-year quarter.

The consensus mark for earnings has risen by a penny in the past 30 days to $7.48 per share, which implies an increase of nearly 12% from the year-ago quarter’s figure. ULTA has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 5.8%, on average.

Factors to Consider

A positive view of the beauty space is keeping Ulta Beauty well-positioned. The company has been benefiting from healthy traffic trends, greater brand awareness and the expansion of its loyalty program. Management’s transformational initiatives have also been yielding favorable results. 

Ulta Beauty Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ulta Beauty Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Ulta Beauty Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ulta Beauty Inc. Quote

Ulta Beauty’s focus on its strategic priorities has been working well. These include strengthening the omnichannel business, undertaking various tools to enhance the experience of guests, concentrating on providing customers with a curated and exclusive range of beauty products through innovation, deepening customer engagement by boosting rewards and loyalty programs and optimizing its cost structure.

Ulta Beauty has been seeing market share gains in major beauty categories for a while now, with skincare standing out due to consumers’ rising interest in self-care and the company’s focus on newness and innovation. The trend continued in the third quarter of fiscal 2023, wherein skincare was the company’s fastest-growing category. ULTA saw double-digit growth in both mass and prestige segments. The continuation of these trends bodes well for the quarter under review.

Ulta Beauty has been witnessing continued margin pressure due to higher supply-chain costs and reduced merchandise margins, among other reasons. Ulta Beauty’s SG&A expenses have also been rising year over year for a while now. In the third quarter of fiscal 2023, SG&A expenses rose 10.8% to $661.4 million due to increased corporate overheads related to strategic investments, deleverage of store payroll and benefits, increased store expenses and greater marketing expenses.

The persistence of these trends is a concern. We expect SG&A expenses to increase 11.1% in the fourth quarter, with the SG&A rate expected to expand to 24.3% compared with 23.6% in the third quarter of fiscal 2022.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Ulta Beauty 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 the case here.

Ulta Beauty has an Earnings ESP of +0.05% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Other Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are three other companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

DICK'S Sporting Goods (DKS - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.80% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is likely to register a top and bottom-line increase when it reports fourth-quarter 2023 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarterly earnings per share of $3.34 suggests a rise of almost 14% from the year-ago quarter. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DICK'S Sporting’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $3.75 billion, which indicates a jump of 4.2% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. DKS delivered a positive earnings surprise of 16.8% in the last reported quarter.

Dollar General (DG - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.61% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to register a bottom-line decrease when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly earnings per share of $1.74 suggests a decrease of 41.2% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus mark for Dollar General’s revenues is pegged at $9.78 billion, which calls for a decline of 4.2% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. DG delivered a positive earnings surprise of 5.9% in the last reported quarter.

Dollar Tree (DLTR - Free Report) currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.28% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to register top and bottom-lines increases when it reports fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 numbers. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarterly earnings per share of $2.67 suggests a rise of 30.9% from the year-ago quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Dollar Tree’s quarterly revenues is pegged at $8.67 billion, which indicates an increase of 12.4% from the figure reported in the prior-year quarter. DLTR has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 0.7%, on average.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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