Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) reported its latest quarterly results after the bell Thursday, which sent shares tumbling as the company missed analysts’ outlook for the current quarter.
The beauty salon chain said that for its first quarter of the current fiscal year, it brought in adjusted earnings of $2.70 per share, which was a 31.7% increase compared to the year-ago quarter. The figure topped expectations as analysts were calling for the company to bring in adjusted earnings of $2.48 per share, according to data compiled by Zacks Investment Research.
On the revenue front, Ulta Beauty also beat Wall Street’s guidance as it brought in sales of $1.54 billion, a 17.4% improvement compared to the year-ago quarter. Analysts were projecting the company to rake in revenue of $1.53 billion, according to data compiled by Zacks.
The company’s comparable sales impressed, growing 88.1% year-over-year thanks to a 5.1% transaction growth and a 3% growth in average ticket. Ulta Beauty’s e-commerce sales soared 48% compared to the year-ago quarter to $154.4 million, while salon sales were up by 10.1% year-over-year.
For its second quarter, the company sees sales in the range of $1.475 billion to $1.488 billion, below analysts’ expectations for $1.498 billion. Ulta Beauty also forecasts adjusted earnings in the range of $2.35 to $2.40 per share, below Wall Street’s outlook of $2.50 per share.
ULTA stock fell about 2.6% during regular trading hours and declined a further 3.9% after the bell on the company’s weak quarterly outlook.
