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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

O'Reilly Automotive vs Ulta Beauty: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

O'Reilly Automotive holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across stability and profitability. Ulta Beauty still has the edge on valuation, 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 S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

The clearest separation starts in stability, but profitability adds another real layer to the result. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. leads by 9 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.78
Similar
Peer-set rank: #11
within O'Reilly Automotive, 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.

The strongest overlap appears in 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
ORLY
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.
71
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
62
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: ORLY vs ULTA Profitability 89 59 Stability 85 40 Valuation 57 84 Growth 50 54 ORLY ULTA
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +45
#2 Profitability +30
#3 Valuation +27
#4 Growth +4
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for ORLY and ULTA Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer ORLYULTA Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure clearly favours O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., even though current pricing leans the other way.

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

Entry today — historical context

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

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY ORLY Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 4 pct gap ULTA Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 80th 76th
ORLY (80th percentile) and ULTA (76th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
Both profiles are strong on stability, but O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. leads clearly.
Profitability
On profitability, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. still leads clearly.
Stability — Dominant Gap
ORLY
85
ULTA
40
Gap+45in favour of ORLY

The clearest distance comes from a steadier profile over time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Ulta Beauty, with a forward P/E that is 8.9 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

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

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

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

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how ORLY 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.