ULTA vs RPRX Comparison

Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the US with about 1,500 freestanding stores. The firm offers cosmetics (39% of 2024 sales), fragrances (13%), skin care (23%), and hair care products (19%). It also has salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow, that account for about 4% of its revenue and drive traffic. Outside of the US, Ulta acquired premium beauty retailer Space NK and its 83 stores in the UK and Ireland in 2025, is opening franchised stores in Mexico, and has formed a joint venture to expand into the Middle East. In addition, Ulta collects royalties through its Target partnership (set to end in 2026) and credit card revenue. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

Royalty Pharma PLC is the largest buyer of biopharmaceutical royalties. The firm has a portfolio of royalties that entitles it to payments based on the sales of biopharma products. Royalty Pharma receives royalties on more than 35 commercial products, including AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson's Imbruvica (for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other blood cancers), Biogen's Tysabri (for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis), Vertex's cystic fibrosis franchise, and 10 development-stage product candidates.