Northrop Grumman Corporation vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Northrop Grumman Corporation trades at $480.03 (market cap $68.83B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $564.83 (market cap $24.12B). The key difference: Northrop Grumman Corporation is far larger — about 2.9× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and Northrop Grumman Corporation pays a 2.04% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Northrop Grumman Corporation for 81 Days and Ulta Beauty Inc for 92 Days on average.
| NOC | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.83B | $24.12B |
Volume | 1,081,989 | 457,598 |
Sector | Industrials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $768.02 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $473.46 | $450.75 |
Typical Hold Time | 81 Days | 92 Days |
Enterprise Value | $82.81B | $26.43B |
Dividend Yield | 2.04% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Northrop Grumman (NOC) trades at $479.00, up 1.17% with a bearish technical signal despite strong fundamentals. The stock shows consistent earnings beats with Q2 2026 EPS of $7.68 exceeding expectations, supported by a robust $104.7 billion backlog and expanding defense budgets. Recent news highlights both competitive pressures from Boeing's $20B fighter contract win and positive developments in F-35 radar demand.
The investment outlook remains positive with analyst consensus at $600.62 (25% upside) and 54% buy ratings, though technical indicators suggest near-term pressure. Key risks include contract competition and execution challenges on major programs like the B-21 bomber, while strong cash flow generation and dividend growth provide shareholder support.
ULTA Beauty trades at $545.48, down 0.33% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings beat and raised 2026 guidance, though Q4 2025 missed expectations. Valuation metrics show a P/E of 20.55 and P/S of 1.92, with robust profitability including 46.12% ROE. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 59.57% buy ratings and a $624.93 price target, representing 14.6% upside potential.
ULTA presents a compelling growth story with e-commerce momentum and expansion into wellness categories, though margin compression and flat traffic pose near-term challenges. The stock offers attractive upside to analyst targets but faces execution risks amid consumer spending pressures. Institutional ownership remains strong with recent buying activity from major funds.
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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 →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 →