Compare Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) vs Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA) Price & Performance
Price performance (Past 24H)
Key statistics
Key statistics
Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $514.98 (market cap $74.42B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $489.47 (market cap $20.98B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 3.5× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 1.79% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| NOC | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $74.42B | $20.98B |
Sector | Industrials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $496.02 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $88.65B | $23.06B |
Dividend Yield | 1.79% | — |
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $512.29, down 1.78% amid a bearish technical signal despite strong Q2 2026 earnings that beat estimates and a record $105 billion backlog. The stock faces margin pressures but maintains solid fundamentals with a P/E of 16.43 and ROE of 28.51%. Recent news highlights raised 2026 guidance driven by robust defense demand, though the stock's decline reflects investor concerns over cost challenges.
The outlook is mixed: bullish fundamentals and analyst consensus ($655 price target) support long-term growth, but near-term risks include execution on margin targets and technical bearishness. Investment appeal hinges on defense budget tailwinds offsetting operational headwinds.
ULTA Beauty trades at $489.47, up 2.06% with a bullish technical signal despite mixed moving averages. The company maintains strong profitability with 39.33% gross margins and 47.45% ROE, though net margins have declined from 12.17% in 2023 to 10.63% in 2025. Recent Q1 2026 earnings beat expectations at $7.74 EPS versus $6.89 expected, while Q4 2025 missed. Analyst consensus remains strongly positive with 26 buy ratings and a $618.29 price target, representing 26% upside potential.
ULTA presents a compelling growth story with international expansion and digital engagement driving long-term potential. However, investors face risks from margin compression, competitive pressures in beauty retail, and volatile cash flow patterns. The stock's current valuation at 18.29x P/E appears reasonable given growth prospects, but requires monitoring of consumer spending trends and execution on strategic initiatives.
Returns comparison
Trailing returns across standard periods
Returns comparison
Trailing returns across standard periods
Top news
Latest headlines on both assets
Top news
Latest headlines on both assets
About Northrop Grumman Corporation
Northrop Grumman is a defense contractor that is diversified across short-cycle and long-cycle businesses. The firm's segments include aeronautics, mission systems, defense services, and space systems. The company's aerospace segment creates the fuselage for the massive F-35 program and produces various piloted and autonomous flight systems. Mission systems creates a variety of sensors and processors for defense hardware. The defense systems segment is a long-range missile manufacturer. Finally, the company's space systems segment produces various space structures, sensors, and satellites.
Read more on NOC →About Ulta Beauty Inc
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 →
