Ulta Beauty Inc vs Workday Inc — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $489.47 (market cap $20.98B), while Workday Inc trades at $141 (market cap $36.36B). The key difference: Workday Inc is the larger of the two by market cap. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | WDAY | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $20.98B | $36.36B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Technology |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $247.69 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $112.55 |
Enterprise Value | $23.06B | $35.81B |
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.
Workday (WDAY) trades at $141.17, down 2.49% amid a Morgan Stanley downgrade (July 21, 2026). The stock shows bullish technical signals with moving averages supporting upside, though RSI levels indicate overbought conditions. Fundamentally, WDAY maintains strong revenue growth ($8.45B in 2025) and consistent earnings beats, with Q1 2026 EPS of $2.66 exceeding expectations. The company's agentic AI initiatives are driving expansion deals, highlighted by a 200% YoY growth in new contract value.
WDAY presents a compelling growth opportunity with a consensus price target of $150.83 (6.8% upside), supported by 55.55% analyst buy ratings. However, risks include AI competition, regulatory scrutiny over HR software bias (Reuters, June 22, 2026), and elevated valuation multiples (P/E of 45.86). Investors should weigh robust fundamentals against near-term sentiment headwinds from the recent downgrade.
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 →Workday is a software company that offers human capital management, or HCM, financial management, and business planning solutions. Known for being a cloud-only software provider, Workday is headquartered in Pleasanton, California. Founded in 2005, Workday now employs over 12,000 employees.
Read more on WDAY →