Ulta Beauty Inc vs Warner Music Group Corp — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $542.26 (market cap $24.12B), while Warner Music Group Corp trades at $28.16 (market cap $14.66B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is the larger of the two by market cap, and Warner Music Group Corp pays a 2.85% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | WMG | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $24.12B | $14.66B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Media |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $34.72 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $23.65 |
Enterprise Value | $26.43B | $18.96B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.85% |
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.
Warner Music Group (WMG) trades at $28.03, down 2.61% on the day, with a bearish technical signal. Recent earnings show mixed quarterly beats, with Q1 and Q2 2026 exceeding expectations but Q4 2025 missing. Revenue has grown steadily from $5.9B in 2022 to $6.7B in 2025, though net income margin declined to 5.44%. The company maintains a strong ROE of 25.38% and recently announced a strategic AI music partnership with Suno (Reuters, 2026-09-09).
Outlook is cautiously optimistic with analyst consensus at 66.7% buy ratings. Key opportunities include streaming growth and AI initiatives, while risks involve margin pressure and leadership changes. The stock's valuation at a P/E of 22.42 appears reasonable given growth prospects, but investors should monitor execution on margin improvement and competitive dynamics in the music industry.
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 →Warner Music Group is the third largest of the three major global record labels, with Vivendi's Universal Music in first and Sony Music in second. Warner's larger segment, recorded music, consists of iconic labels like Atlantic Records, Warner Records, and Parlophone Records and popular artists such as Ed Sheeran, Cardi B, Dua Lipa, and Blake Shelton. Warner Chappell, the firm's publishing arm, is the home to over 65,000 composers and songwriters with over a million copyrights represented. Warner is controlled by Access Industries, which owns an 84% economic interest and 99% of voting rights.
Read more on WMG →