Ulta Beauty, Inc. is celebrating better-than-expected net sales for Q1 fiscal 2025 (13 weeks ended May 3, 2025), up 2.9% year-over-year to $2,848.4 million, and has slightly notched up its full-year guidance.
- Market watch: Q1 2025 Beauty Sales Breakdown
Ulta Beauty Reports Results and Updates Fiscal 2025 Growth Outlook
Comparable sales for stores open at least 14 months, as well as e-commerce sales, increased 2.9% versus fiscal 2024, led by a 2.3% increase in average ticket and a 0.6% increase in transactions.
Gross profit increased 4.2% to $1.11 billion in the period, while operating income was $401.8 million, or 14.1% of net sales, down from 14.7% of net sales in the same period of 2024.
Net income was $305.1 million compared to $313.1 million.
Based on these results, Ulta Beauty has updated its outlook for fiscal 2025 from a range of 0-1% growth to a range of 0-1.5%.
Ulta Beauty Q1 Sales Highlights: Fragrance Leads, Skin Care Grows, Makeup Declines
Ulta's sales trends largely mirrored macro data released by Circana earlier this month.
In an analyst call, Kecia Steelman, president and chief executive officer, noted that fragrance was Ulta's top-performing Q1 category, driven by:
- new women’s and gender neutral fragrance brands
- spring and Valentine’s Day sets
- men’s fragrance
- brands such as XO Chloe by Khloe Kardashian, Noize, Valentino and Billie Eilish
Skin care and wellness sales "increased in the high single digit range," per the executive, "driven by robust growth in body care, sun care and wellness.
High-performing brands included:
- Tatcha
- Naturium
- Inua
- Meily’s
- Peach and Lily
- Sol De Janeiro
- Touchland
That said, prestige skin care was flat in the period.
The hair category, meanwhile, was flat, boosted by hair color and accessories, while tools and mass dropped.
Top-performing brands in the category included Beyonce’s Cecred.
Finally, makeup sales dropped overall, boosted by mass offerings from Morphe and Ulta Beauty, as well as offerings from Ilia, Milk Makeup, Dibs, MAC, Estee Lauder and Lancome, and offset by brands that expanded distribution in the last year, as well as flat prestige makeup results.
Ulta Beauty CEO Highlights Strong Start to Fiscal 2025 and Strategic Growth
“Fiscal 2025 is off to an encouraging start with stronger-than-expected performance," said Kecia Steelman, president and chief executive officer. "Our Ulta Beauty Unleashed plan is resonating with guests, energizing our team, and fueling growth. The operating environment is fluid, and our outlook reflects uncertainty around how consumer demand could evolve. We believe our model uniquely positions us to win, and we will continue to focus on serving our guests while staying agile as we move through the year."
