Ulta Beauty vs Wayfair
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Ulta Beauty and Wayfair side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Wayfair is the larger business, with $12.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $12.4B for Ulta Beauty.
- Ulta Beauty grew revenue faster (9.7%, against 5.1%).
- Ulta Beauty kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (12.4% operating margin, against 0.1%).
- Ulta Beauty turned more of its sales into free cash flow (8.6% FCF margin, against 3.7%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 9 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Ulta Beauty
ULTA
8/9
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Wayfair
W
0/9
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ULTA FY25 | W FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $27.0B | $14.9B |
| Revenue | $12.4B | $12.5B |
| Free cash flow | $1.1B | $464M |
| Net income | $1.2B | −$313M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 9.7% | 5.1% |
| 5-year growth | 15.0% | −2.5% |
| Share count change | −5.1% | 4.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 39.1% | 30.2% |
| Operating margin | 12.4% | 0.1% |
| Net margin | 9.3% | −2.5% |
| FCF margin | 8.6% | 3.7% |
| Return on capital | 55.8% | — |
| Return on equity | 43.6% | — |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$432M | $1.7B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.2x | 5.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $901M | $0.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 22.8x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
FY16
ULTA $4.9B
W $3.4B
FY17
ULTA $5.9B
W $4.7B
FY18
ULTA $6.7B
W $6.8B
FY19
ULTA $7.4B
W $9.1B
FY20
ULTA $6.2B
W $14.1B
FY21
ULTA $8.6B
W $13.7B
FY22
ULTA $10.2B
W $12.2B
FY23
ULTA $11.2B
W $12.0B
FY24
ULTA $11.3B
W $11.9B
FY25
ULTA $12.4B
W $12.5B
ULTA
W
Operating margin
FY16
ULTA 13.5%
W −5.8%
FY17
ULTA 13.4%
W −5.0%
FY18
ULTA 12.7%
W −7.0%
FY19
ULTA 12.2%
W −10.2%
FY20
ULTA 3.9%
W 2.6%
FY21
ULTA 15.0%
W −0.7%
FY22
ULTA 16.1%
W −11.3%
FY23
ULTA 15.0%
W −6.8%
FY24
ULTA 13.9%
W −3.9%
FY25
ULTA 12.4%
W 0.1%
ULTA
W
Free cash flow
FY16
ULTA $261M
W −$33.9M
FY17
ULTA $339M
W −$66.8M
FY18
ULTA $637M
W −$74.3M
FY19
ULTA $803M
W −$469M
FY20
ULTA $658M
W $1.2B
FY21
ULTA $887M
W $309M
FY22
ULTA $1.2B
W −$860M
FY23
ULTA $1.0B
W $201M
FY24
ULTA $964M
W $244M
FY25
ULTA $1.1B
W $464M
ULTA
W
Return on capital
FY16
ULTA 38.9%
W —
FY17
ULTA 44.1%
W —
FY18
ULTA 47.0%
W —
FY19
ULTA 50.0%
W —
FY20
ULTA 15.3%
W —
FY21
ULTA 96.0%
W —
FY22
ULTA 106.5%
W —
FY23
ULTA 93.4%
W —
FY24
ULTA 72.2%
W —
FY25
ULTA 55.8%
W —
ULTA
W
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.