Ulta Beauty Inc vs Verizon Communications Inc — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $489.47 (market cap $20.98B), while Verizon Communications Inc trades at $43.73 (market cap $181.64B). The key difference: Verizon Communications Inc is far larger — about 8.7× Ulta Beauty Inc's market cap, and Verizon Communications Inc pays a 6.51% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | VZ | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $20.98B | $181.64B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Media |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $51.38 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $38.40 |
Enterprise Value | $23.06B | $369.14B |
Volume | — | 22,584,735 |
Dividend Yield | — | 6.51% |
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.
Verizon (VZ) trades at $43.78, up 0.44% today, with a bearish technical signal but strong fundamentals including a P/E of 10.61 and consistent earnings beats. Recent news highlights a restructuring involving 3,000 job cuts and the sale of 274 stores to franchisees, aimed at boosting efficiency ahead of Q2 2026 earnings. Cash flow improved in 2025 with net cash flow of $14.9 billion, supporting its 6.5% dividend yield.
Outlook: Attractive for income investors due to stable cash flows and high dividend, but faces risks from 5G competition and margin pressure. Analyst consensus price target is $47.83, suggesting upside potential if execution improves. Key risks include debt levels and industry discounts threatening profitability.
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 →Verizon Communications Inc. is an integrated telecommunications company that provides wire line voice and data services, wireless services, Internet services, and published directory information. The Company also provides network services for the federal government including business phone lines, data services, telecommunications equipment, and payphones.
Read more on VZ →