Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. trades at $183.14 (market cap $42.71B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $531.85 (market cap $23.27B). The key difference: Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ulta Beauty Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LYV | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $42.71B | $23.27B |
Sector | Industrials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $186.59 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $125.61 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $44.92B | $25.35B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Live Nation (LYV) trades at $185.71, up 0.58% with strong bullish technical signals from moving averages. The stock shows mixed fundamentals with a high P/E of 117.49 but beat Q2 2026 earnings expectations. Revenue growth remains robust at $25.2B in 2025, though net margins are thin at 0.51%. Recent insider sales and legal concerns create headwinds despite analyst optimism.
Outlook remains cautiously optimistic with 87% analyst buy ratings and a $209.54 price target suggesting 13% upside. Key risks include elevated valuation, debt levels, and regulatory scrutiny. The company's dominant live events position and strong demand provide growth catalysts, but execution on cost management will be critical for profitability improvement.
ULTA stock trades at $532.14, down 3.01% today, amid mixed technical signals with a bullish moving average trend but neutral oscillators. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $7.74, beating expectations, and maintains strong profitability with a 39.33% gross margin and 47.45% ROE. Recent news highlights Ulta's omnichannel growth strategy and the end of its Target partnership, viewed as a potential revenue opportunity by analysts.
Outlook is positive with a consensus price target of $618.29, representing 16% upside, supported by 56.53% analyst buy ratings. Risks include margin compression, with net income margin projected to drop to 9.35% in 2026, and volatile cash flows, as net cash flow turned negative in 2025. Investors should weigh strong fundamentals against competitive and execution risks in the retail sector.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Live Nation is the largest live entertainment firm in the world with over 570 million fans served in 44 countries in 2018 by the company's concert and ticketing platforms. Via either owning, operating, or holding exclusive booking rights, Live Nation controls over 235 venues including the House of Blues, the Hollywood Palladium, and Spark Arena in New Zealand. Live Nation also owns one of the largest ticketing services, Ticketmaster, which sold over 480 million tickets for over 12,000 clients in 2018. The firm's artist management agencies have over 400 clients. This large live entertainment footprint helped Live Nation become one of the largest advertising and sponsorship platforms aimed at music fans. Liberty Media owns 33% of Live Nation, held under its SiriusXM tracking stock.
Read more on LYV →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 →