By Katherine Hamilton

Ulta Beauty's fourth-quarter profit and revenue inched down, but its same-store sales surpassed Wall Street's expectations.

The beauty retailer posted a profit of $393.3 million, or $8.46 a share, for the 13-week period that ended Feb. 1, compared with $394.4 million, or $8.08 a share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $333 million.

Revenue fell 2% to $3.49 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $3.47 billion. Sales decreased primarily due to an extra week of sales in the prior-year quarter, Ulta said.

Same-store sales grew 1.5%, beating Wall Street's estimate of 0.8% growth.

For the current fiscal year, Ulta is expecting revenue of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion, ahead of the $11.27 billion analysts are estimating.

It anticipates same-store sales will be flat or rise 1%. Earnings per share are expected to be $22.50 to $22.90.

This was the first quarter since Chief Executive Kecia Steelman took the helm on Jan. 6. Ulta also appointed a new chief marketing officer and chief retail officer this year.

The beauty industry has slowed, in part due to cautious consumer spending, and Ulta faces increasing competition from lower-priced e-commerce rivals.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Analysts polled by FactSet expect Ulta Beauty's fiscal-year 2025 sales to be $11.67 billion. "Ulta Beauty 4Q Earnings Decline, Same-Store Sales Beat Expectations," at 4:44 p.m. ET, and a subsequent update, incorrectly said the analysts expected sales of $11.27 billion.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2025 17:52 ET (21:52 GMT)

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