GPC vs. ULTA: Genuine Parts vs. Ulta Beauty Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) both fall under the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group, but GPC is classified in Distributors while ULTA is classified in Specialty Retail.

Company profile comparison for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Profile Item	GPC	ULTA
Name	Genuine Parts Company	Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Consumer Discretionary	Consumer Discretionary
GICS Industry Group	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail	Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail
GICS Industry	Distributors	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Distributors	Other Specialty Retail
Market Capitalization	16.93 billion USD	27.57 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	October 25, 2007
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

GPC

ULTA

GSPC

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Total Return (1Y)	3.03%	29.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	0.86%	19.79%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.55%	11.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

GPC

ULTA

GSPC

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	33.94%	36.05%
Beta (5Y)	0.63	0.82
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-45.70%	-44.56%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.02M	548.94K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

GPC and ULTA are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.04	0.69
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.05	1.01

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 46.12% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Genuine Parts (GPC) at 0.66% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in returns on equity.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.66%

Max: 62.17%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
GPC: 0.66%
Min: -12.16%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

46.12%

Max: 62.17%
ULTA: 46.12%
Q3: 29.44%
Median: 15.69%
Q1: 6.73%
Min: -12.16%

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their ROE against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 9.34% keeps a top-quartile share of each sales dollar as profit, while Genuine Parts (GPC) at 0.12% keeps a bottom-quartile share.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.12%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
GPC: 0.12%
Min: -9.41%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

9.34%

Max: 16.94%
ULTA: 9.34%
Q3: 8.69%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
Min: -9.41%

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 12.51% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Genuine Parts (GPC) at 6.36%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

6.36%

Max: 21.45%
Q3: 10.89%
GPC: 6.36%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

12.51%

Max: 21.45%
ULTA: 12.51%
Q3: 10.89%
Median: 5.57%
Q1: 2.28%
Min: -7.12%

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
ROE (TTM)	0.66%	46.12%
ROA (TTM)	4.41%	14.84%
Net Margin (TTM)	0.12%	9.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	6.36%	12.51%
Gross Margin (TTM)	37.74%	43.10%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Genuine Parts (GPC) at 3.46% and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 9.71% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.18% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Genuine Parts (GPC) at -92.74% falls below its industry range, a notably weak earnings reading.

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.46%	9.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.22%	6.68%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-92.74%	1.18%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-61.61%	2.21%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Genuine Parts (GPC) at 1.22 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.35 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.22

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
GPC: 1.22
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.35

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
ULTA: 1.35
Q1: 1.00
Min: 0.48

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Genuine Parts (GPC) at 1.46 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 0.95 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.46

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
GPC: 1.46
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.95

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
ULTA: 0.95
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.22	1.35
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.46	0.95
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.94	1.19

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Genuine Parts (GPC) reports a yield of 3.39%, ranking against industry peers normally.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

3.39%

Max: 5.84%
GPC: 3.39%
Q3: 2.50%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
ULTA: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Genuine Parts (GPC) reports payout ratio above 100% at 1,622.12%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings; Ulta Beauty (ULTA) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%).

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1,622.12%

GPC: 1,622.12%
Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.00%

Max: 72.73%
Q3: 32.44%
ULTA: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	3.39%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	1,622.12%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 23.50 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Genuine Parts (GPC) at 472.31 sits above its peer range — an unusually expensive price for GPC’s trailing earnings.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

472.31

GPC: 472.31
Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

23.50

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
ULTA: 23.50
Median: 19.23
Q1: 12.64
Min: 4.67

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Genuine Parts (GPC) at 0.67 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 2.13 sits in the pricier quartile — ULTA costs more per dollar of sales.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

0.67

Max: 4.32
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
GPC: 0.67
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.13

Max: 4.32
ULTA: 2.13
Q3: 1.99
Median: 0.70
Q1: 0.26
Min: 0.03

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Genuine Parts (GPC) at 3.64 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 10.44 carries an above-peer premium to book — ULTA is pricier on assets.

GPC

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

3.64

Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
GPC: 3.64
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

ULTA

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

10.44

Max: 10.96
ULTA: 10.44
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45

Genuine Parts (GPC) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Genuine Parts (GPC) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	GPC	ULTA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	472.31	23.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.67	2.13
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	3.64	10.44
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	5.41%	3.32%