ULTAUlta Beauty
Is it safe?
Strong, no red flags: a safe balance sheet, clean books, and comfortable debt (AA).
Financially healthy, low distress risk Altman Z-score, a bankruptcy-risk model from five balance-sheet ratios.
Reported earnings show no manipulation flags Beneish M-score, a forensic model that detects earnings-manipulation patterns (receivables outrunning sales, margins slipping, accrual-heavy profit).
Mixed fundamental signals Piotroski F-score, nine pass/fail tests of year-over-year financial health across profitability, balance sheet and efficiency. 7 to 9 is strong, 0 to 3 weak.
Insiders were net sellers (-$1.4M, 90 days to Oct 8, 2026), selling is often routine.
Rock-solid balance sheet, low leverage. A rule of thumb on leverage, not a credit rating.
Moderate price swings, typical volatility. Worst drawdown -65% · now 19% below its 52-week high.
Unless marked, from SEC EDGAR, as of Jan 31, 2026.
Against the whole market›
Percentile against every name Ryufin tracks. Higher is better; the tick marks the middle of the market. Context, not one of the checks above.
Where this answer is blind. Altman sits structurally low for utilities and pipelines; Beneish runs high for fast growers, since sales growth alone lifts it; banks and REITs are excluded.
Can ULTA take a bad year?
Ulta Beauty carries $126M of net debt at 0.07× EBITDA: a load its earnings can carry.
Net debt · as at Q2 2026 · under two and a half years of EBITDA, comfortable
- Net debt / EBITDA
- 0.07×
Net debt / EBITDA · 0.03× a year ago · the load is going up
- Altman Z-score
- 6.02
Altman Z-score · safe zone, above 3
- Debt / equity
- 0.13×
Debt / equity
Details›
- Total debtQ2 2026
- $340M
- Cash and short-term investments
- $213M
- Net debt
- $126M
- EBITDA, trailing twelve months
- $1.93B
- Operating profit, trailing twelve months
- $1.61B
- Debt / equity
- 0.13×
- Total debt / EBITDA
- 0.18×
- Annualised volatilitytwo years of daily moves
- 37%
- Worst drawdown on file
- −65%
- Below its 52-week high
- 19%
Balance sheet from SEC filings; drawdown and volatility from end-of-day closes; Altman Z from the filed statements.
Specialty Retail
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