Lamb Weston Holdings Inc vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Lamb Weston Holdings Inc trades at $52.4 (market cap $7.23B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $534.62 (market cap $23.27B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is far larger — about 3.2× Lamb Weston Holdings Inc's market cap, and Lamb Weston Holdings Inc pays a 2.89% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LW | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $7.23B | $23.27B |
Sector | Consumer Staples | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $66.57 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $38.48 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $11.10B | $25.35B |
Dividend Yield | 2.89% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Lamb Weston (LW) trades at $51.81, down 0.88% today, with a bullish technical signal and consistent earnings beats. The stock shows strong profitability with a 16.28% ROE and a 4.39% net margin, supported by positive cash flow from operations of $868.3M in 2025. Recent news highlights Q4 2026 results exceeding expectations and a declared $0.38 dividend.
Outlook remains positive with a consensus price target of $53.86, though risks include margin pressure from cost inflation and international headwinds. The stock offers a solid dividend yield and growth potential from operational improvements, but investors should monitor debt levels and competitive dynamics.
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
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 →