ULTA vs VLTO 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.

Veralto is a diversified industrial firm organized into two segments, water quality as well as product quality and innovation. The water quality segment offers water analytics and water treatment solutions, while the product quality and innovation segment offers coding, packaging, and color solutions for consumer packaged goods and pharmaceuticals. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, the company has around 17,000 employees. Veralto generated approximately $5.2 billion in revenue in 2024.