National Vision vs Sally Beauty
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put National Vision and Sally Beauty side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Sally Beauty is the larger business, with $3.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $2.0B for National Vision, about 1.9 times as much.
- National Vision grew revenue faster (9.0%, against −0.4%).
- Sally Beauty kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (8.9% operating margin, against 3.0%).
- Sally Beauty turned more of its sales into free cash flow (4.7% FCF margin, against 3.7%).
- Sally Beauty earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (16.1%, against 3.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of National Vision’s earnings: a P/E of 29.2x against 9.1x for Sally Beauty.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
National Vision
EYE
3/10
Revenue growth5-year growthNet debt / EBITDA
Sally Beauty
SBH
7/10
Operating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityPiotroski F-scoreShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | EYE FY25 | SBH FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $1.4B | $1.7B |
| Revenue | $2.0B | $3.7B |
| Free cash flow | $73.5M | $173M |
| Net income | $29.6M | $196M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 9.0% | −0.4% |
| 5-year growth | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| Share count change | 2.5% | −2.9% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 51.6% |
| Operating margin | 3.0% | 8.9% |
| Net margin | 1.5% | 5.3% |
| FCF margin | 3.7% | 4.7% |
| Return on capital | 3.9% | 16.1% |
| Return on equity | 3.5% | 27.5% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $207M | $726M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.4x | 1.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.2M | $54.0M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 29.2x | 9.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 8 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.