General Motors Company vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? General Motors Company trades at $87.67 (market cap $78.40B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $534.16 (market cap $23.27B). The key difference: General Motors Company is far larger — about 3.4× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and General Motors Company pays a 0.81% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| GM | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $78.40B | $23.27B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $90.30 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $54.16 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $181.38B | $25.35B |
Dividend Yield | 0.81% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
General Motors (GM) trades at $87.96, up 0.43% with a bullish technical signal and strong analyst support. The company shows robust cash flow generation ($26.87B operating cash flow in 2025) and has beaten earnings estimates for three consecutive quarters. Recent developments include a $4.5B parts supply deal and a renewed 20-year joint venture in China, positioning GM for supply chain stability and international growth.
GM presents a compelling investment case with 65% analyst buy ratings and a $108.82 consensus price target offering 24% upside. However, declining profit margins (1.05% net margin in 2025) and rising debt levels (46.79% debt-to-asset ratio) warrant caution. The stock's valuation appears reasonable with P/S of 0.45 and P/B of 1.26, but investors should monitor execution on EV strategy transitions and macroeconomic pressures on auto demand.
ULTA Beauty trades at $548.66, down 2.92% on the day, with strong technical momentum indicated by bullish moving averages and key support at $542. Fundamentally, the company maintains robust profitability with 39.33% gross margins and 47.45% ROE, though recent earnings showed mixed results with a Q4 miss. Revenue growth has been consistent, reaching $11.3B in 2025, while analyst sentiment remains positive with 56.53% buy ratings.
The outlook for ULTA remains favorable with a consensus price target of $618.29 offering 12.7% upside potential. Key opportunities include omnichannel expansion and digital growth initiatives, while risks involve margin pressure from rising costs and competitive retail landscape. Institutional ownership trends show continued confidence with recent position increases by major funds.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
General Motors Co. emerged from the bankruptcy of General Motors Corp. (old GM) in July 2009. GM has eight brands and operates under four segments: GM North America, GM International, Cruise, and GM Financial. The United States now has four brands instead of eight under old GM. The company lost its U.S. market share leader crown in 2021 with share down 280 basis points to 14.6%, but we expect GM to reclaim the top spot in 2022 as 2021 suffered from the chip shortage. GM Financial became the company's captive finance arm in October 2010 via the purchase of AmeriCredit.
Read more on GM →With more than 1,300 stores and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the U.S. The firm offers makeup (43% of 2021 sales), fragrances, skin care, and hair care products (20% of 2021 sales), and bath and body items. Ulta offers private-label products and merchandise from more than 500 vendors. It also offers salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow services, in all stores. Most Ulta stores are approximately 10,000 square feet and are in suburban strip centers. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
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