There's no question that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, especially when talking about luxury.
Coty and Ulta Beauty
Luxury Buying Boom: Ulta Beauty (ULTA) reported strong than expected April quarter results fueled by comp sales of 9.3% for the quarter. Margins for the period ticked lower primarily due to higher inventory shrink, lower merchandise margins, higher supply chain costs, and deleverage of salon expenses.
While the company lifted its fiscal 2024 revenue forecast to $11.0-$11.1 billion, up from $10.95-$11.05 billion it trimmed it revised its EPS outlook to $24.70-$25.40 vs. the $25.35 consensus. As part of that guidance, Ulta continues to see annual comp sales of 4%-5%.
While Ulta shares are trading off today as margin expectations for the coming quarters shift lower, we see its top-line comments supporting Action Alerts PLUS holding Coty's (COTY) business and our shares.
We were pleased to hear Ulta discuss its efforts to lean further into the luxury market, something that meshes well with Coty's higher-margin Prestige business. Ulta also shared it continues to expand its offering of clean products, another positive for One-rated Coty.
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