Ulta Beauty Inc vs Upstart Holdings Inc — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $542.26 (market cap $24.12B), while Upstart Holdings Inc trades at $26.05 (market cap $2.63B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is far larger — about 9.2× Upstart Holdings Inc's market cap, and Ulta Beauty Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Upstart Holdings Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | UPST | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $24.12B | $2.63B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Financials |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $68.11 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $24.22 |
Enterprise Value | $26.43B | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
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.
Upstart Holdings (UPST) trades at $26.98, down 3.81% on the day, reflecting bearish technical momentum and recent earnings misses. The stock shows oversold conditions with an RSI of 18.98, while fundamentals indicate a turnaround with 2025 net income of $53.60M on $1.02B revenue, marking its first annual profit. Analyst sentiment is mixed with a 45.46% buy rating and $47.20 consensus target, but insider selling and weak cash flow from operations pose concerns.
The outlook hinges on execution in personal loan growth and AI lending efficiency, but risks include high debt-to-asset ratio of 61.48% and macroeconomic sensitivity. Near-term resistance at $28 challenges upside, while support at $26 may stabilize declines if earnings improve in Q3 2026.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
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 →Upstart Holdings Inc provides credit services. The company provides a proprietary, cloud-based, artificial intelligence lending platform. The platform aggregates consumer demand for loans and connects it to the network of Upstart AI-enabled bank partners. The revenue of the company is primarily comprised of fees paid by banks.
Read more on UPST →