Business
Ulta Beauty raises full-year forecast after reporting growth in all major categories
Ulta Beauty on Thursday raised its full-year forecast, after reporting growth in all major categories and topping Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations.
The beauty retailer said it expects net sales of between $12 billion and $12.1 billion, up from its previous range of $11.5 billion and $11.7 billion, representing an increase from last fiscal year’s net sales of $11.3 billion. It expects earnings per share of $23.85 to $24.30, up from its previous range of $22.65 to $23.20.
It expects comparable sales, a metric that takes out one-time factors like store openings and closures, to grow between 2.5% to 3.5%, up from projections of as much as 1.5%. The company had raised its annual profit forecast and the upper end of its full year sales range in May.
In the company’s news release, CEO Kecia Steelman said its outlook for the year “reflects both the strength of our year-to-date performance and our caution around how consumer demand may evolve in the second half of the year.”
Shares of Ulta gained about 3% in extended trading, after earlier hitting a 52-week during the regular session.
Here’s what the company reported for the fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, according to LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $5.78. It was not immediately clear if that was comparable to the $5.08 expected by analysts.
- Revenue: $2.79 billion vs. $2.67 billion expected
In the three-month period that ended August 2, Ulta’s net income rose to $260.88 million, or $5.78 per share, from $252.6 million, or $5.30 per share, in the year-ago period. Revenue increased from $2.55 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Beauty has remained a hot category for consumers, even as they pull back or watch their spending in other discretionary categories. Yet that’s fueled tougher competition for Ulta Beauty as specialty players like LVMH-owned Sephora, big-box retailers like Walmart and department stores like Kohl’s have all bulked up their beauty businesses.
For investors, tariffs have been a closely watched challenge for retailers, too. Compared to other retailers, Ulta is not as directly exposed. Only about 1% of the company’s merchandise last fiscal year was direct imports, then-CFO Paula Oyibo said in May on the company’s earnings call. She said at the time most of Ulta’s exposure to the higher duties was minor, such as store fixtures and supplies.
Even in tumultous economic times, Steelman said beauty and wellness tend to fare better because they “offer a unique sense of comfort and escape.”
“Our insight suggests consumers continue to prudently manage their day-to-day spending and are watchful of pricing trends in response to tariffs,” she said on the earnings call. “At the same time, beauty enthusiasts tell us that they’re prioritizing their beauty regimens and remain strongly engaged within the category.”
In the second quarter, Ulta’s comparable sales grew 6.7% year over year, more than double analysts’ expectations, according to StreetAccount.
Customers visited more and spent more when they shopped on Ulta’s website and in its stores compared to the year-ago quarter. Transactions rose by 3.7% and average ticket increased by 2.9%.
Ulta added new brands and products that drove purchases in the quarter, including more products from Sol de Janeiro, exclusive Korean beauty brand Peach & Lily and Shakira’s hair care brand, Isima, Steelman said on the company’s earnings call.
Plus, she said, it’s trying to reach more of its existing and prospective customers in new ways. It had an activation at the Coachella and Lollapalooza music festivals and was the official beauty retail partner of Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter Tour.
In a growing number of Ulta stores, it is dedicating space to wellness-related products, such as supplements. It has opened a wellness shop in about 370 stores and plans to expand them to more stores this quarter, Steelman said.
Along with attracting more customers in the U.S., Ulta has looked internationally for growth. It announced in July that had acquired Space NK, a British beauty retailer, from Manzanita Capital. The deal allows Ulta to enter a new international market, since Space NK has 83 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Ulta did not disclose the price of the acquisition, saying it funded the transaction with cash on hand and Ulta’s existing credit facility and that it would not be material to financial results for the fiscal year.
For Ulta, Space NK offered a less expensive way to enter a new market, Steelman said. Its business, which will continue to operate independently, could offer learnings that could shape Ulta’s strategy, she said. Compared to Ulta, its shops tend to be smaller, located on main streets in cities and sell primarily prestige beauty merchandise.
The company is expanding in other international markets, too. Ulta recently marked the soft opening of its first Ulta store in Mexico and it plans to open its first store in the Middle East later this year, Steelman said Thursday on the company’s earnings call.
Ulta is also introducing a third-party marketplace, which Steelman said will launch in the third quarter. A growing number of retailers, including Best Buy, are launching the marketplaces a way to expand the mix of merchandise they carry without needing more store shelf space or buying more of their own inventory.
At the same time, Ulta recently announced the end of one of its efforts to expand reach. It cut ties with Target, which had opened mini Ulta shops in more than 600 big-box stores. The licensing deal, which will end in August 2026, allowed Target to sell a smaller and rotating assortment of makeup, skincare, hair care products and more that are carried by the full Ulta stores. Target carried those items on its website, and it staffed the shops.
For Ulta, however, the Target deal contributed little to its finances, Steelman said. Royalty revenue from the deal last fiscal year “was well below 1% of net sales,” she said on the company’s earnings call.
Ulta is looking for a new CFO as well. The company’s former CFO, Oyibo, left Ulta in late June after about a year in the role. Ulta has not yet announced her permanent successor.
Business
Reliance Industries AGM 2025 Live Updates: Mukesh Ambani Set To Address 44 Lakh RIL Shareholders Shortly
Reliance AGM 2025 Live Updates: Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) is set to hold its 48th Annual General Meeting (AGM) today at 2:00 pm through video conferencing (VC) and other audio-visual means (OAVM). Investors will keenly watch RIL Chairman & Managing Director Mukesh Ambani’s live speech for announcements that could shape the company’s next phase of growth across its digital, retail, and energy businesses.
The event will be livestreamed across digital platforms, including YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, and JioEvents. The streaming will start at 2:00 pm.
(Disclaimer: Network18 and TV18 – the companies that operate news18.com – are controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.)
Vehicle breakdown specialist RAC has revealed stronger revenues and profits after it saw member numbers grow to 15 million.
The breakdown, insurance and maintenance firm reported that revenues grew by 8% to £411 million over the first half of 2025, putting it “on track” for another year of growth.
It said this included growth across each of its three main divisions.
The 128-year-old business said it is “confident” about its outlook for the rest of the year and for the longer term.
This came after membership numbers grew to 15 million from 14.1 million a year earlier.
RAC also reported that group earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation, grew by 12% to £152 million over the half-year.
The roadside assistant giant is owned by CVC Capital Partners, the Singaporean sovereign investment fund GIC and Silver Lake Partners.
Sky News reported in July that the firm’s owners were preparing to offload the business in a potential sale or stock market float, which could value the RAC at about £5 billion.
Dave Hobday, chief executive of the RAC, said: “2025 is set to be our 14th year of consecutive growth and I am delighted with our strong first-half performance and the continued progress we have made towards our vision to be the UK’s number one for driving services.
“Through our three complementary offerings: breakdown; insurance; and service, maintenance & repair; UK motorists are increasingly choosing us as their one-stop-shop at every stage of their driving journey.
“During the half-year period, we welcomed 500,000 new breakdown members and 10,000 motor insurance members, while our expanding team of mobile mechanics delivered more than double the number of repair and maintenance jobs.
“At the same time, our ongoing investment in AI, digital, and data accelerated performance across the board.”
Business
Vikran Engineering IPO Last Day: Issue Gets 6.9x Subscription So Far, Should You Apply? Check GMP
Last Updated:
Vikran Engineering GMP Today: Its grey market premium currently stands at 12.37%, indicating mild listing gains for investors.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP: The initial public offering of Vikran Engineering Ltd, an infrastructure EPC company, is going to be closed today, Friday, August 29. The price of the Rs 772-crore IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 92 to Rs 97 per share. Till 10:40 am on the final day of bidding on Friday, the issue received a 6.89x subscription, garnering bids for 38,38,61,976 shares as against the 5,57,11,341 shares on offer.
The retail and NII participation stood at 6.47x and 15.76x, respectively. The QIB category was subscribed by 0.97x.
The IPO’s grey market premium on Friday stood at 12.37%, indicating mild listing gains for investors.
Vikran Engineering IPO Key Dates
The IPO will remain open for public subscription between August 26, 2025, and August 29, 2025. The share allotment will likely be finalised on September 1, and the company is expected to be listed on both BSE and NSE on September 3.
Vikran Engineering IPO Price And Lot Size
The price of the IPO has been fixed in the range of Rs 92 to Rs 97 per share.
For investors, the minimum lot size for the IPO is 148. It means investors will have to apply for a minimum of 148 shares or in multiple thereof. So, retail investors require a minimum capital of Rs 14,356 to apply for the IPO.
Vikran Engineering IPO GMP Today
According to market observers, unlisted shares of Vikran Engineering Ltd are currently trading at Rs 109 against the upper IPO price of Rs 97. It means a grey market premium or GMP of Rs 12, which is 12.37% over its issue price, indicating a mild listing gains.
The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. ‘Grey market premium’ indicates investors’ readiness to pay more than the issue price.
Vikran Engineering IPO: Should You Apply?
Market experts are largely optimistic about the prospects of Vikran Engineering’s public issue. Giving a positive outlook, Anshul Jain, head of research at Lakshmishree Investment, said that Vikran Engineering’s strong execution track record with government and PSU clients, coupled with its experienced management team and exposure to a high-growth sector, make it well-placed for scalability.
Jain recommended a ‘Subscribe’ rating for long-term investors.
Shivani Nyati, head of wealth at Swastika Investmart, said the company is among the fastest-growing Indian EPC players, with a revenue CAGR of 32.17%. She highlighted its consistent growth in revenue and profitability, along with a strong order book of over Rs 2,442 crore as of June 30, 2025.
She said the IPO is fairly priced, and investors may look at it both for listing gains and long-term potential.
Brokerages including BP Equities, Arihant Capital Markets, Adroit Financial Services, AUM Capital, and Canara Bank Securities have also given a ‘subscribe’ call on the issue.
Vikran Engineering IPO: More Details
The IPO is a mix of fresh issue of shares of about Rs 721 crore and an offer-for-sale portion worth Rs 51 crore by the promoter.
The Mumbai-based company intends to utilise proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 541 crore for funding working capital requirements and the rest for general corporate purposes.
Vikran Engineering provides end-to-end services from conceptualisation, design, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning on a turnkey basis.
As of June 30, 2025, the company completed 45 projects across 14 states with a total executed contract value of Rs 1,920 crore. It has 44 ongoing projects across 16 states, aggregating orders worth Rs 5,120 crore.
Vikran Engineering’s revenue from operations increased 16.53 per cent to Rs 916 crore in FY25 from Rs 786 crore in the previous financial year, and profit after tax rose 4 per cent to Rs 78 crore in FY25 from Rs 75 crore in FY24.
Pantomath Capital Advisors and Systematix Corporate Services are the book-running lead managers, while Bigshare Services is the registrar of the issue.
The company’s shares will be listed on the BSE and the NSE.
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h…Read More
Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h… Read More
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