Compare Ulta Beauty Inc (ULTA) vs UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH) Price & Performance
Price performance (Past 24H)
Key statistics
Key statistics
Ulta Beauty Inc vs UnitedHealth Group Inc — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $489.47 (market cap $20.98B), while UnitedHealth Group Inc trades at $435.93 (market cap $382.83B). The key difference: UnitedHealth Group Inc is far larger — about 18.2× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and UnitedHealth Group Inc pays a 2.2% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | UNH | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $20.98B | $382.83B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Health |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $431.68 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $237.77 |
Enterprise Value | $23.06B | $429.52B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.2% |
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Aura AI Summary
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
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.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) trades at $426.09, up 0.64% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and strong analyst support. The stock shows consistent earnings beats, with Q2 2026 EPS of $6.38 surpassing expectations of $4.94. Revenue growth remains robust, reaching $447.57 billion in 2025, though net margins have compressed to 2.68%. Recent corporate actions include a $2.32 dividend and ongoing share repurchases, while news highlights operational streamlining like reduced pediatric prior authorizations.
UNH's outlook is positive, driven by aging demographics and tech innovation in healthcare, offering upside to the $467.12 consensus target. Risks include regulatory scrutiny, as seen in Massachusetts' Medicaid lawsuit, and margin pressure from rising costs. Institutional sentiment is strongly bullish, with 82.69% of analysts rating it a buy, supporting long-term growth prospects amid sector tailwinds.
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 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 →About UnitedHealth Group Inc
UnitedHealth Group is one of the largest private health insurers, providing medical benefits to 50 million members globally, including 5 million outside the U.S. at the end of 2021. As a leader in employer-sponsored, self-directed, and government-backed insurance plans, UnitedHealth has obtained massive scale in managed care. Along with its insurance assets, UnitedHealth's continued investments in its Optum franchises have created a healthcare services colossus that spans everything from medical and pharmaceutical benefits to providing outpatient care and analytics to both affiliated and third-party customers.
Read more on UNH →
