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Chipotle Mexican Grill vs Ulta Beauty: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Ulta Beauty holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and valuation. Chipotle Mexican Grill does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. 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 lead is spread across growth and valuation, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. Ulta Beauty, Inc. leads by 19 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.79
Similar
Peer-set rank: #11
within Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

Most of the shared profile comes through margin consistency and revenue stability.

Similarity drivers
margin consistencyrevenue stability
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
CMG
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
41
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.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: CMG vs ULTA Profitability 46 54 Stability 27 36 Valuation 54 83 Growth 26 56 CMG ULTA
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +30
#2 Valuation +29
#3 Stability +9
#4 Profitability +8
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CMG and ULTA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CMGULTA Relative valuation Structural strength

Ulta Beauty, Inc. looks stronger both structurally and on relative valuation.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CMG Lower · below norm 0th 50th 100th 45 pct gap ULTA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 30th 75th
Today CMG sits in the lower-middle of its own 5-year history (30th percentile), while ULTA sits higher in its own history (75th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, CMG 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
Growth
On growth, Ulta Beauty, Inc. is positioned higher in the group, while Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is closer to the middle.
Valuation
Both profiles are strong on valuation, but Ulta Beauty, Inc. leads clearly.
Growth — Dominant Gap
CMG
26
ULTA
56
Gap+30in favour of ULTA

The main growth separation is wide, driven by a meaningfully stronger expansion profile.

What else supports the lead

A forward P/E that is 8.4 turns lower adds a second meaningful layer to the lead.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and valuation, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

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Similar growth-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how CMG 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.