Ulta Beauty Earnings Beat, Revenue Misses In Q3; Shares Jump

Investing.com – Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) reported mixed third-quarter performance as earnings beat, but revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates.

The firm reported (EPS) of $2.23 on revenue of $1.68 billion. Analysts polled by Investing.com forecast EPS of $2.13 on revenue of $1.69 billion. That compared to EPS of $2.18 on revenue of $1.56 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company had reported EPS of $2.76 on revenue of $1.67 billion in the previous quarter.

Comparable sales increased by 3.2% compared with an increase of 7.8% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales increased 40 basis points to 37.1% compared to 36.7% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018, primarily due “to improvement in merchandise margins driven by marketing and merchandising strategies and leverage of fixed store costs, partially offset by investments in salon services,” the retailer said.

Looking ahead, the company narrowed its fiscal 2019 comp sales guidance in the range of 4.7% to 5.0%, down from 4% to 6% previously and said it expected to generate earnings per share in the range of $11.93 to $12.03, compared with $11.86 to $12.06 previously.

Capital expenditures for the year were guidance in the range of $305 million to $315 million, down from $340 million to $350 million, previously.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:) shares gained 11% in after-hours trade following the report.

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