Ulta Beauty Inc vs Yum! Brands, Inc. — how do they compare? Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $531.85 (market cap $23.27B), while Yum! Brands, Inc. trades at $144.74 (market cap $39.50B). The key difference: Yum! Brands, Inc. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Yum! Brands, Inc. pays a 2.07% dividend while Ulta Beauty Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ULTA | YUM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $23.27B | $39.50B |
Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $706.82 | $168.16 |
52-Week Low | $450.75 | $138.21 |
Enterprise Value | $25.35B | $51.10B |
Dividend Yield | — | 2.07% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
ULTA stock trades at $532.14, down 3.01% today, amid mixed technical signals with a bullish moving average trend but neutral oscillators. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $7.74, beating expectations, and maintains strong profitability with a 39.33% gross margin and 47.45% ROE. Recent news highlights Ulta's omnichannel growth strategy and the end of its Target partnership, viewed as a potential revenue opportunity by analysts.
Outlook is positive with a consensus price target of $618.29, representing 16% upside, supported by 56.53% analyst buy ratings. Risks include margin compression, with net income margin projected to drop to 9.35% in 2026, and volatile cash flows, as net cash flow turned negative in 2025. Investors should weigh strong fundamentals against competitive and execution risks in the retail sector.
YUM trades at $150.15, up 3.32% in the past 24 hours, with a bearish technical signal from moving averages but neutral oscillators. Recent earnings show a Q2 2026 beat with EPS of $1.62 versus $1.57 expected, while revenue grew to $8.21B in 2025. The company completed the sale of Pizza Hut China for $1.2B in August 2026, aiming to streamline operations and reduce debt. Cash flow from operations improved to $2.01B in 2025, supporting a dividend payment of $0.75 per share.
The outlook is mixed, with analyst consensus leaning hold (56.87%) but a price target of $174.60 implying 16% upside. Risks include ongoing legal investigations and a parasite outbreak impacting Taco Bell sales, though management reports recovery. Debt remains high at $11.25B long-term, but the debt-to-asset ratio improved to 143.49 in 2025. Execution on digital growth and brand focus post-Pizza Hut sale are key to unlocking value.
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 →Yum Brands is a U.S.-based restaurant operator featuring a portfolio of four brands: KFC (26,930 global units), Pizza Hut (18,380 units), Taco Bell (7,790 units), and The Habit Burger (310 units) at year-end 2021. With $58 billion in 2021 systemwide sales, the firm is the second-largest restaurant company in the world, behind McDonald's ($112.5 billion) but ahead of Restaurant Brands International ($36 billion) and Starbucks ($25 billion). Yum is 98% franchised, with the largest franchisee, Yum China, created via a 2016 spinoff transaction (after which Yum China agreed to pay 3% royalties to Yum Brands in perpetuity). Yum is the newest evolution of Tricon Brands, formerly a division of PepsiCo, and generates the bulk of its revenue from franchise royalties and marketing contributions.
Read more on YUM →