LOW vs. ULTA: Lowe's vs. Ulta Beauty Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Lowe's (LOW) 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

Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) both belong to the Specialty Retail industry, though LOW is classified under Home Improvement Retail while ULTA falls under Other Specialty Retail.

Company profile comparison for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Profile Item	LOW	ULTA
Name	Lowe's Companies, Inc.	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	Specialty Retail	Specialty Retail
GICS Sub-Industry	Home Improvement Retail	Other Specialty Retail
Market Capitalization	125.98 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

LOW

ULTA

GSPC

Lowe's (LOW) 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 Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Total Return (1Y)	1.84%	29.08%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.02%	19.79%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.87%	11.09%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LOW

ULTA

GSPC

Lowe's (LOW) 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 Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	30.08%	36.05%
Beta (5Y)	0.78	0.82
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-36.85%	-44.56%
Avg. Volume (3M)	3.23M	548.94K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LOW 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 Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.08	0.69
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.13	1.01

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Ulta Beauty (ULTA) earns 46.12% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; Lowe's (LOW) has no ROE this period.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

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

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%

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): LOW does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; ULTA is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 9.34% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Lowe's (LOW) at 7.35%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

7.35%

Max: 16.94%
Q3: 8.69%
LOW: 7.35%
Median: 3.55%
Q1: 1.14%
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%

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their net margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Lowe's (LOW) at 13.37% and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 12.51% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

13.37%

Max: 21.45%
LOW: 13.37%
Q3: 10.89%
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%

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their operating margin against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
ROE (TTM)	--	46.12%
ROA (TTM)	12.52%	14.84%
Net Margin (TTM)	7.35%	9.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	13.37%	12.51%
Gross Margin (TTM)	32.99%	43.10%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Lowe's (LOW) at 3.12% 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.

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Lowe's (LOW) at -3.11% and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.18% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.12%	9.71%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-3.85%	6.68%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-3.11%	1.18%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.23%	2.21%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Lowe's (LOW) at 1.11 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 1.35 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.11

Max: 2.62
Q3: 1.75
Median: 1.35
LOW: 1.11
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

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their current ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Ulta Beauty (ULTA) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95 against its industry range, while Lowe's (LOW) reports no figure this period.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

Max: 3.93
Q3: 2.14
Median: 1.25
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.01
LOW: --

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

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): LOW does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; ULTA is benchmarked against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.11	1.35
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.95
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.05	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 Lowe's (LOW) reports a yield of 2.13%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

2.13%

Max: 5.84%
Q3: 2.50%
LOW: 2.13%
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%

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Lowe's (LOW) reports a payout of 41.00%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

41.00%

Max: 72.73%
LOW: 41.00%
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%

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.13%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	41.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Lowe's (LOW) at 18.98 and Ulta Beauty (ULTA) at 23.50 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

18.98

Max: 40.50
Q3: 24.26
Median: 19.23
LOW: 18.98
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

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Lowe's (LOW) at 1.39 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.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

1.39

Max: 4.32
Q3: 1.99
LOW: 1.39
Median: 0.70
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

Lowe's (LOW) vs. Ulta Beauty (ULTA): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Lowe's (LOW) reports a negative P/B ratio of -16.94, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Ulta Beauty (ULTA) reports 10.44, ranking against industry peers normally.

LOW

Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail industry group

-16.94

Max: 10.96
Q3: 5.26
Median: 2.16
Q1: 1.08
Min: -4.45
LOW: -16.94

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

Lowe's (LOW) 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 Lowe's (LOW) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
Metric	LOW	ULTA
P/E Ratio (TTM)	18.98	23.50
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.39	2.13
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-16.94	10.44
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	3.66%	3.32%