Nasdaq Inc vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Nasdaq Inc trades at $94.7 (market cap $53.13B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $542.26 (market cap $24.12B). The key difference: Nasdaq Inc is far larger — about 2.2× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and Nasdaq Inc pays a 1.22% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NDAQ | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $53.13B | $24.12B |
Sector | Financials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $100.98 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $76.85 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $59.58B | $26.43B |
Dividend Yield | 1.22% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Nasdaq (NDAQ) trades at $95.04, down 1.9% today, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages but bearish oscillators. The company reported strong earnings beats in recent quarters, with Q2 2026 EPS of $1.07 exceeding the $0.984 estimate. Revenue grew to $8.26B in 2025, up from $7.4B in 2024, and net income margin improved to 22.52%. Recent news highlights Nasdaq's acquisition of Dasseti to enhance AI capabilities in investment technology.
The outlook for NDAQ is positive, supported by consistent earnings outperformance, revenue growth, and strategic acquisitions. Risks include market volatility and competitive pressures. Analysts maintain a bullish consensus with a $109.20 price target, implying 15% upside from current levels.
ULTA Beauty trades at $549.23, down 2.64% today, amid mixed signals. The stock shows a bullish technical trend with strong moving averages, while fundamentals reveal steady revenue growth to $11.30B in 2025, though net income margin has softened to 9.34%. Recent Q2 2026 earnings beat expectations, and the company raised full-year guidance, yet some segments like cosmetics showed flat performance.
The outlook is cautiously optimistic, with a consensus price target of $653.14 implying significant upside. Key opportunities include digital growth and AI integration potential, but risks involve competitive pressures and reliance on discretionary consumer spending. Analyst sentiment remains predominantly bullish, supporting a favorable risk-reward profile for long-term investors.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Founded in 1971, Nasdaq is primarily known for its equity exchange, but in addition to its market-services business (about 35% of sales), the company sells and distributes market data as well as offers Nasdaq-branded indexes to asset managers and investors through its information-services segment (30%). Nasdaq's corporate-services business (20%) offers listing services and related investor relations products to publicly traded companies and through the company's market technology group (15%), Nasdaq facilitates the exchange operations of other exchanges throughout the world and provides financial compliance services.
Read more on NDAQ →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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