ULTA vs ROST Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Ulta's beauty specialty model against Ross Stores' off-price treasure-hunt retail formula.
Use this Ulta Beauty vs Ross Stores comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
ROST holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ROST has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+53.05% vs +6.22%), though ULTA has the better forward P/E setup (16.15x vs 25.61x for ROST). ROST leads on both revenue growth (13.30%) and operating margin (17.62%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +20.60% for ULTA and +18.11% for ROST.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 42.6 | 55.4 |
| AI ranki | #905 | #265 |
| Latest closei | $564.12 | $230.69 |
| 1M returni | +4.57% | -8.90% |
| 6M returni | -13.70% | +7.38% |
| 1Y returni | +6.22% | +53.05% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.65K (+6.5%) started 2025-09-04 | $15.1K (+51.0%) started 2025-09-04 |
| 5Y ago | $14.87K (+48.7%) started 2021-09-07 | $21.88K (+118.8%) started 2021-09-07 |
| 10Y ago | $22.6K (+126.0%) started 2016-09-06 | $43.63K (+336.3%) started 2016-09-06 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $22.13B | $73.31B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 18.83 | 27.64 |
| Forward P/Ei | 16.15 | 25.61 |
| Price/Salesi | 1.83 | 2.22 |
| EV/Revenuei | 1.89 | 2.98 |
| Analyst targeti | $624.08 | $269.94 |
| Target upsidei | +20.60% | +18.11% |
| Metric | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 8.90% | 13.30% |
| Earnings growthi | 13.30% | 70.50% |
| EPS growthi | +13.30% | +70.50% |
| FCF margini | +7.06% | +8.80% |
| Operating margini | 12.51% | 17.62% |
| Profit margini | 9.34% | 10.85% |
| ROIC proxyi | 46.12% | 42.63% |
| Return on equityi | 46.12% | 42.63% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | 0.78% |
| Betai | 0.85 | 0.88 |
| Debt/equityi | 95.47 | 70.28 |
| Current ratioi | 1.34 | 1.61 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.20 | 0.93 |
Over the past year, ULTA and ROST have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.29), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +6.54% | +50.97% |
| CAGRi | +6.55% | +51.05% | |
| Volatilityi | 34.70% | 26.30% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.23 | 1.53 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.32 | 2.56 | |
| Max drawdowni | 36.23% | 13.03% | |
| Current drawdowni | 20.19% | 9.61% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.37% | 2.38% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 19.99% | 3.83% | |
| Max daily dropi | 14.24% | 5.89% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.23% | 11.87% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +48.71% | +109.84% |
| CAGRi | +8.27% | +16.01% | |
| Volatilityi | 34.71% | 29.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.27 | 0.50 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.39 | 0.72 | |
| Max drawdowni | 44.56% | 40.72% | |
| Current drawdowni | 20.19% | 9.61% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 16.23% | 8.91% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.40% | 12.67% | |
| Max daily dropi | 15.34% | 22.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 20.23% | 21.93% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +125.97% | +299.63% |
| CAGRi | +8.50% | +14.87% | |
| Volatilityi | 38.58% | 31.81% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.29 | 0.46 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.41 | 0.66 | |
| Max drawdowni | 64.92% | 51.41% | |
| Current drawdowni | 20.19% | 9.61% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.73% | 10.45% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 22.30% | 14.67% | |
| Max daily dropi | 29.55% | 22.47% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 41.90% | 38.97% |
| Category | ULTA | ROST |
|---|---|---|
| Company | ULTA | ROST |
| Sector | Consumer Cyclical | Consumer Cyclical |
| Industry | Specialty Retail | Apparel Retail |
| Core business | Ulta Beauty, Inc. operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States, Mexico, and Kuwait. | Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home fashion stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS brands in the United States. |
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