Tidewater Inc vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Tidewater Inc trades at $91.74 (market cap $4.54B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $531.85 (market cap $23.27B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is far larger — about 5.1× Tidewater Inc's market cap, and Tidewater Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ulta Beauty Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| TDW | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $4.54B | $23.27B |
Sector | Utilities | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $91.20 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $47.29 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $4.58B | $25.35B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Tidewater (TDW) trades at $91.61, up 2.21% with strong technical momentum and bullish moving average signals. The company reported Q2 2026 earnings of $0.43 per share, beating estimates, with revenue of $342.3 million. Despite recent earnings misses, operational cash flow remains robust at $379 million for 2025, though 2026 projections show declining revenue and margins. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 26.9% buy ratings amid elevated RSI levels suggesting potential overbought conditions.
The stock faces headwinds from declining profitability trends and earnings volatility, but strong institutional ownership and positive technical indicators support near-term upside. Key risks include execution challenges and macroeconomic pressures on the offshore services sector. Investors should weigh solid cash generation against margin compression for balanced positioning.
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
Tidewater is the leading global provider of offshore support vessels (OSVs) to the energy industry. With the world's largest fleet of platform supply vessels (PSVs) and anchor handling tugs (AHTS), it provides critical logistics and marine support for offshore oil, gas, and renewable energy projects. Following a period of massive strategic consolidation, Tidewater is now focused on maximizing day rates and free cash flow in a supply-constrained market, positioning itself as a primary beneficiary of the multi-year offshore upcycle.
Read more on TDW →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 →