Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. DKS scored 49.4, ULTA scored 72.2 — ULTA leads.
Compare another set
DKS
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
Specialty Retail · Quality-Growth
49.4
$136.65 · $13.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
22.8
ULTA leads
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Specialty Retail · Quality-Growth
72.2
$570.37 · $24.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestDKS14.8x
Fastest growthDKS+28.1%
Strongest balance sheetULTA0.95
Highest qualityULTA85 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
DKS
stronger →← stronger
ULTA
67
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
85
73
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
78
25
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
57
ULTA is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
DKS
ULTA
$239mC
FCF
$1.1bC+
+28.1%A-
Rev
+11.2%B
1.39C+
D/E
0.95B
14.8xB+
P/E
20.8xC+
—
PEG
1.77C+
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
DKS
ULTA
238% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
6% above
~41%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~9%/yr
-73%
1-yr DCF upside
-14%
-70%
5-yr DCF upside
-6%
-65%
10-yr DCF upside
+9%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
DKS
Why this score
Durable high returns
Diluting shareholders
ULTA
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
DKSDICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
Specialty Retail · $136.65 · beta 1.10
Why now
Specialty Retail · market cap $13.5b. Down 44% from 52-week high of $244.38 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +28% — in hypergrowth territory. 23 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $157.96 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
ROE 18% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Down 44% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Net margin 4.0% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first.
ULTAUlta Beauty, Inc.
Specialty Retail · $570.37 · beta 0.84
Why now
Specialty Retail · market cap $24.4b. Down 20% from 52-week high of $714.97 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. 25 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $631.44 (implying +11% upside).
Moat
ROE 46% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
ULTA leads DKS by 0.9 points (71.9 to 71.0), its sharpest advantage coming in D/E (grade B). A contrarian could still prefer DKS for its stronger Rev (grade A). Note they play different roles — DKS screens as value, ULTA screens as growth — so the model rewards different traits for each.
Our AI analyst is busy right now, so this verdict is drawn directly from the pillars, grades and DCF above.
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where DKS and ULTA diverge
On the headline score the gap is 22.8 points in favor of ULTA. The widest single difference is Value, where ULTA leads by 32.5 points.
ValueDKS 24.5 · ULTA 57.0ULTA +32.5
QualityDKS 67.2 · ULTA 84.5ULTA +17.3
GrowthDKS 72.9 · ULTA 78.2ULTA +5.3
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is ULTA or DKS the better stock?
ULTA scores higher: ULTA 72.2, DKS 49.4 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do ULTA and DKS differ most?
The widest gap is value, where ULTA leads by 33 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. ULTA leads all three pillars, so the gap is broad rather than a single-measure difference.
How are ULTA and DKS scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.