Lamb Weston Holdings Inc vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Lamb Weston Holdings Inc trades at $48.43 (market cap $6.81B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $570.8 (market cap $24.12B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is far larger — about 3.5× Lamb Weston Holdings Inc's market cap, and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc pays a 3.07% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Lamb Weston Holdings Inc for 66 Days and Ulta Beauty Inc for 92 Days on average.
| LW | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $6.81B | $24.12B |
Volume | 4,638,686 | 457,598 |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $66.57 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $38.48 | $450.75 |
Typical Hold Time | 66 Days | 92 Days |
Enterprise Value | $10.61B | $26.43B |
Dividend Yield | 3.07% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Lamb Weston (LW) trades at $48.36, up 0.56% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and consistent earnings beats in recent quarters. The stock shows strong profitability with a 14.17% ROE and trades at a P/E of 27.03. Recent news highlights cost savings exceeding $100 million and anticipation for Q1 2026 earnings. The consensus price target is $53.71, suggesting potential upside from current levels.
The outlook is cautiously optimistic given earnings momentum and analyst support, but risks include margin pressure from rising costs and ongoing legal scrutiny. Net income margin declined to 3.85% in 2025 from 11.21% in 2024, reflecting operational challenges. Investor sentiment is mixed amid institutional positioning shifts and pending earnings results.
ULTA Beauty trades at $570.02, up 4.5% today, showing strong momentum with a bullish technical setup and positive analyst sentiment. The company delivered Q2 2026 earnings beat ($6.55 actual vs. $6.22 expected) and raised 2026 guidance, supported by robust e-commerce growth. Valuation metrics show a P/E of 20.55 and P/S of 1.92, while profitability remains solid with 39.3% gross margins and 46.1% ROE. Recent news highlights expansion into wellness categories and omnichannel strength.
Outlook remains positive with consensus price target of $624.93 (9.6% upside), though margin pressure and flat store traffic pose execution risks. The stock's current price near resistance at $572 suggests potential near-term consolidation before further gains. Institutional ownership trends show mixed activity with recent CEO share sales offset by pension fund accumulation.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Lamb Weston is the world's second-largest producer of branded and private-label frozen potato products, such as French fries, sweet potato fries, tater tots, diced potatoes, mashed potatoes, hash browns, and chips. The company also has a small appetizer business that produces onion rings, mozzarella sticks, and cheese curds. Including joint ventures, 63% of fiscal 2022 revenue was U.S.-based, with the remainder stemming from Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Mexico, and several other countries. Lamb Weston's customer mix is estimated 58% quick-serve restaurants, 19% full-service restaurants, 8% other food services (hotels, commercial cafeterias, arenas, schools), and 16% retail. Lamb Weston became an independent company in 2016 when it was spun off from Conagra.
Read more on LW →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.
Read more on ULTA →