Addressing investors at a J.P. Morgan conference in New York City, Ulta Beauty CEO Dave Kimbell noted a deceleration in the beauty sector, though it follows several robust years of growth.
“We had planned for moderation in total category growth to kind of the midsingle-digit range. What we’ve seen so far is a slowdown in the total category across price points and segments. That’s a bit earlier and a bit bigger than we thought,” Dave Kimbell said.
During a JPMorgan Chase & Co. conference, Ulta Beauty stated that comparable sales for this quarter are expected to align with the lower end of the guidance provided last month for the first half of the year, assuming the current sluggish trends continue. This lead the company’s stock to experience a significant drop of up to 15%, marking its largest decline since March 2020.
Stocks of companies whose products are sold by Ulta also experienced declines. Estee Lauder Cos. and Coty Inc. recorded their most significant drops since the beginning of the year, falling by 4.12% and 6.28%, respectively, while Elf Beauty Inc. saw its largest decline since October, plummeting by 11.92%. Additionally, L’Oreal’s stock price also declined by 2.23%.
