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Best Buy Co. vs Ulta Beauty: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

The structural profiles are close, with Ulta Beauty carrying a narrow edge on profitability. The remaining gap is narrow enough that the comparison remains open to different readings. Both sides have seen trend damage — neither carries a clear market edge right now. With both trends damaged, the structural comparison carries most of the weight here.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest score difference appears in profitability.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Retail

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. BBY and ULTA share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Best Buy Co and Ulta Beauty each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
BBY
Best Buy Co., Inc.
57
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
60
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: BBY vs ULTA Profitability 44 54 Stability 30 36 Valuation 88 83 Growth 58 56 BBY ULTA
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +10
#2 Stability +6
#3 Valuation +5
#4 Growth +2
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for BBY and ULTA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer BBYULTA Relative valuation Structural strength

The structural gap is limited here, but current pricing still leans against Ulta Beauty, Inc..

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where BBY and ULTA each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY BBY Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 72 pct gap ULTA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 2nd 75th
Today BBY sits in the lower portion of its own 5-year history (2nd percentile), while ULTA sits higher in its own history (75th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, BBY is at a historically more favourable entry position than ULTA. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Both look solid on profitability, though Ulta Beauty, Inc. still holds the stronger peer position.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
BBY
44
ULTA
54
Gap+10in favour of ULTA

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 7.2-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Best Buy Co., Inc. still shows lower market-fundamental divergence, which keeps the wider picture mixed rather than completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is visible, but the profile still looks more volatile than a fully settled winner.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the BBY vs ULTA comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other close comparisons

Explore how BBY and ULTA each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.