Ulta Beauty's Net Sales Jump 8.9% to $3 Billion in Big Year

Ulta Beauty reported net sales of $3 billion for its second quarter, up 8.9 percent, beating Wall Street estimates on both the top and bottom lines. The quarter ended Aug. 1. The retailer credited rising comparable sales, its 2025 acquisition of Space NK and new store openings.

For full-year 2026, the Bolingbrook, Ill.-based company forecasts net sales growth between 6.7 percent and 7.2 percent. Not bad for a business that lost market share in 2024 — for the first time — as beauty retail competition intensified.

How did Ulta turn it around?

The recovery began in 2025, when chief executive officer Kecia Steelman took the helm and launched the Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy. Steelman laid out the plan at an NRF Big Show keynote in January.

"It's not just a strategy, it's a way of being and you can feel it through the entire organization," Steelman said. "There's three core areas we're focused on: Driving our core business [and] making sure that what we're really doing is driving the U.S. business forward. The second is focusing on new businesses and margin-creating businesses, and the third is realigning our foundation for growth."

The company, recipient of the 2026 WWD Honor for Public Beauty Company of the Year, has since paired new bets with its core strengths: value-oriented shoppers across its 1,500-plus U.S. stores and a growing international footprint.

Where is value showing up?

Chief marketing officer Kelly Mahinesspoke for the whole retail sector at the 2026 WWD x FN x Beauty Inc Women in Power Summit. "We're all facing uncertain times — uncertainty is here to stay — and so consumers are starting to get more and more comfortable with this unpredictable microenvironment that we're living in, and value is something customers are leaning into," Mahoney said.

The value agenda takes several concrete forms:

• UB Marketplace, launched last fall, expands the e-commerce assortment with emerging brands. Vice president of hair care merchandising Shianna Davey called it a "testing ground."
• K-beauty at speed: buzzy skin care brands Medicube, Dr. Melaxin and Anua joined the assortment, alongside early bets on Korean hair care and wellness — 13 K-hair care brands added this spring, plus Clöud Café, a Korean-inspired collagen matcha and coffee brand, in stores.
• Bath & Body Works, through a July deal, now sells online and in more than 600 Ulta stores.

What about wellness and new channels?

In January, Ulta unveiled Wellness by Ulta shops-in-shop — an expanded assortment, new educational resources and more dedicated retail space in select stores. The move keeps the largest U.S. specialty beauty retailer positioned where beauty and personal well-being intersect.

In March, Ulta became the first American specialty beauty retailer to launch a storefront on TikTok Shop. In October, it introduced an Ulta Beauty ChatGPT plugin for personalized product recommendations. The times-square flagship follows in 2027. International expansion continues in Mexico and the Middle East, both markets where Ulta first opened stores in 2025.

Is Ulta staying close to culture?

Yes, aggressively. The second Ulta Beauty World festival ran in Orlando, Fla., in April with activations from more than 200 brands, masterclasses from JVN founder Jonathan Van Ness and "Euphoria" makeup artist Donni Davy, and a goodie bag valued at more than $2,000 — the bag went viral, not the tote-ular kind of quiet.

In February, Ulta launched an Athlete Roster with six professional women athletes, including pickleball world champion Anna Leigh Waters and Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby. This summer, The Beat Suite glam station appeared at Lollapalooza.

"We're executing with focus — delivering innovation that earns its place; value that feels meaningful, and experiences that keep beauty joyful and accessible," Steelman told WWD at the 2026 NRF Big Show. "In moments of uncertainty, clarity and consistency matter, and our strategy is designed to meet guests where they are while continuing to move the business forward."

In its most recent earnings release, Steelman kept the verdict short: "We are executing with discipline and translating our Ulta Beauty Unleashed strategy into tangible benefits for our guests." With wellness shops scaling, international stores multiplying and a Times Square flagship on the 2027 calendar, Ulta has set the terms of its next test: sustaining growth once the recovery story stops being news.