Ulta Beauty Inc vs Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $568.7 (market cap $24.12B), while Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund trades at $112.83 (market cap $21.89B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund are close in size by market cap, and Ulta Beauty Inc is more actively traded (457,598 versus 5,690,342). Which is the better fit depends on your goals — on Pluang, investors hold Ulta Beauty Inc for 92 Days and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund for 114 Days on average.
| ULTA | XLY | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $24.12B | $21.89B |
Volume | 457,598 | 5,690,342 |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | — |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $124.52 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $105.64 |
Typical Hold Time | 92 Days | 114 Days |
Enterprise Value | $26.43B | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ULTA Beauty trades at $545.48, down 0.33% on the day, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages. The company reported strong Q2 2026 earnings beat and raised 2026 guidance, though Q4 2025 missed expectations. Valuation metrics show a P/E of 20.55 and P/S of 1.92, with robust profitability including 46.12% ROE. Analyst consensus is strongly bullish with 59.57% buy ratings and a $624.93 price target, representing 14.6% upside potential.
ULTA presents a compelling growth story with e-commerce momentum and expansion into wellness categories, though margin compression and flat traffic pose near-term challenges. The stock offers attractive upside to analyst targets but faces execution risks amid consumer spending pressures. Institutional ownership remains strong with recent buying activity from major funds.
XLY trades at $112.66, up 1.17% with a bullish technical signal despite mixed momentum indicators. The ETF shows underperformance versus consumer staples in 2026, declining over 7% while facing inflation pressures on discretionary spending. Analyst consensus remains unanimously bullish with 100% buy ratings, though technical resistance at $113 presents near-term challenges.
The outlook remains cautiously optimistic given strong analyst support and potential holiday sales growth, but persistent inflation and sector underperformance versus the broader market pose significant headwinds. Key risks include consumer spending shifts toward value and concentration in top holdings like Amazon and Tesla.
Trailing returns across standard periods
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 →In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: retail; hotels, restaurants and leisure; textiles, apparel and luxury goods; household durables; automobiles; auto components; distributors; leisure products; and diversified consumer services. It is non-diversified.
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