• by Sarah Mahoney , August 29, 2025

Ulta Beauty sparkled in the second quarter, with comparable sales rising 6.7%, well above forecasts. That momentum is strong enough that the retailer is also boosting its full-year forecast, expecting comparable sales to grow between 2.5% to 3.5%. Previously, the company had predicted a more subdued growth of 1.5%.

Ulta also clarified the status of its partnership with Target. Earlier this month, Ulta announced  it would end the shop-within-a-shop collaboration. On the investor webcast, President and CEO Kecia Steelman stated that Ulta will continue to support existing Target locations through the end of August 2026. “We’ve achieved a lot together, and we remain committed to supporting the shopping experience for guests through the end of the partnership, as well as continuing to support our teams and partners during the transition,” she said. “For perspective, the royalty revenue from our Target partnership in fiscal 2024 was well below 1% of net sales.”

Quarterly results were broadly higher. Net sales increased 9.3% to $2.8 billion, compared to $2.6 billion a year ago. Net income climbed 9.4% to $260.9 million.

Sales went up in every category. Fragrance continued to lead with double-digit growth. Hair and makeup rose in the mid-single digits across both mass and prestige, and wellness benefited from launches including Honey Pot and Armra Colostrum. “Our insight suggests consumers continue to prudently manage their day-to-day spending and are watchful of pricing trends in response to tariffs,” Steelman said. “At the same time, beauty enthusiasts tell us that they’re prioritizing their beauty regimens and remain strongly engaged within the category.”

Ulta is also leaning into cultural visibility, citing unique activations at Coachella and Lollapalooza, and serving as the official beauty retail partner of the Cowboy Carter tour across Beyoncé’s tour markets. “As beauty continues to move at the speed of culture, we’re keeping pace with strong social media engagement and trend-forward content that is engaging and relevant to our consumers, resulting in meaningful growth in unaided awareness, brand engagement, and earned media value,” Steelman said.

Analyst Rupesh Parikh of Oppenheimer wrote that he remains encouraged by early momentum and strong execution under Steelman and expects Ulta to continue to outperform peers, citing the chain’s differentiated offering, newness and innovation pipeline, and ongoing share-gain potential.