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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Compass Group vs Ulta Beauty: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Ulta Beauty holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and valuation. Compass still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. In the market, Compass carries the stronger setup — intact trend against Ulta Beauty's broken trend. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with Ulta Beauty, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (CPG.L: STOXX 600, ULTA: Russell 1000).

Updated 2026-05-17

Most of the visible separation comes from profitability. The overall score gap is 17 points in favour of Ulta Beauty, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.76
Similar
Peer-set rank: #12
within Compass Group PLC'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.

The clearest structural overlap shows up in capital structure and margin consistency.

Similarity drivers
capital structuremargin consistency
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
CPG.L
Compass Group PLC
46
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: STOXX 600
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.

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

Dimension spread: CPG.L vs ULTA Profitability 29 61 Stability 40 41 Valuation 50 81 Growth 70 60 CPG.L ULTA
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +32
#2 Valuation +31
#3 Growth +10
#4 Stability +1
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for CPG.L and ULTA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer CPG.LULTA Relative valuation Structural strength

The two profiles are relatively close, but the price setup still leans toward Ulta Beauty, Inc..

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY CPG.L Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 24 pct gap ULTA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 99th 75th
Today ULTA sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (75th percentile), while CPG.L sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, ULTA is at a historically more favourable entry position than CPG.L. 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
Ulta Beauty, Inc. sits in the stronger part of the group on profitability, while Compass Group PLC is closer to mid-pack.
Valuation
Both rank well on valuation, but Ulta Beauty, Inc. still holds a clear edge.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
CPG.L
29
ULTA
61
Gap+32in favour of ULTA

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 13-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

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

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

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Similar profitability-and-valuation comparisons

Explore how CPG.L 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.