Home Compare BURL vs ULTA
Stock Comparison · Comparison

Burlington Stores vs Ulta Beauty: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Ulta Beauty holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across valuation and profitability. Burlington Stores still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. 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 Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The clearest separation starts in valuation, but profitability adds another real layer to the result. The overall score gap is 15 points in favour of Ulta Beauty, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.78
Similar
Peer-set rank: #11
within Burlington Stores, Inc.'s functional peer set

This comparison is anchored in long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

The pair sits on a clearly comparable long-term path, though it is not a near-twin match.

Most of the shared profile comes through margin consistency and capital structure.

Similarity drivers
margin consistencycapital structure
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
BURL
Burlington Stores, Inc.
48
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
63
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

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

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: BURL vs ULTA Profitability 39 61 Stability 22 41 Valuation 57 81 Growth 76 60 BURL ULTA
Gap Ranking
#1 Valuation +24
#2 Profitability +22
#3 Stability +19
#4 Growth +16
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for BURL and ULTA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer BURLULTA Relative valuation Structural strength

Ulta Beauty, Inc. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY BURL Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 10 pct gap ULTA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 85th 75th
BURL (85th percentile) and ULTA (75th percentile) sit at comparable positions within their own 5-year histories. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Valuation
Both rank well on valuation, but Ulta Beauty, Inc. still holds a clear edge.
Profitability
Ulta Beauty, Inc. sits in the stronger part of the group on profitability, while Burlington Stores, Inc. is closer to mid-pack.
Valuation — Dominant Gap
BURL
57
ULTA
81
Gap+24in favour of ULTA

The multiple-based pricing edge comes from a forward P/E that is 6.1 turns lower.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Earnings growth also leans toward BURL, which keeps the score lead from reading as a full growth sweep.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both valuation and profitability — though growth still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Similar valuation-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how BURL 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.