Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. FIVE scored 83.0, ULTA scored 72.2 — FIVE leads.
Compare another set
FIVE
Five Below, Inc.
Specialty Retail · Quality-Growth
83
$214.73 · $11.8B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
10.8
FIVE 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
CheapestFIVE19.2x
Fastest growthFIVE+22.9%
Strongest balance sheetFIVE0.82
Highest qualityULTA85 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueFIVE-9%
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)
FIVE
stronger →← stronger
ULTA
78
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
85
94
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
78
78
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
57
FIVE is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
FIVE
ULTA
$599mC+
FCF
$1.1bC+
+22.9%A-
Rev
+11.2%B
0.82B
D/E
0.95B
19.2xB
P/E
20.8xC+
0.98B+
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
FIVE
ULTA
9% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
6% above
~10%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~9%/yr
-9%
1-yr DCF upside
-14%
+10%
5-yr DCF upside
-6%
+47%
10-yr DCF upside
+9%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
FIVE
Why this score
Durable high returns
ULTA
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
FIVEFive Below, Inc.
Specialty Retail · $214.73 · beta 0.94
Why now
Specialty Retail · market cap $11.8b. 19% off the 52-week high of $263.88. Revenue growing +23%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.98 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 21 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $310.48 (implying +45% upside).
Moat
ROE 28% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 97% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Value re-rating depends on a catalyst. Without one — analyst day, divestiture, margin recovery, capital return — the stock can stay cheap on these multiples for years.
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
FIVE leads ULTA by 1.1 points (73.0 to 71.9), its sharpest advantage coming in PEG (grade B+). A contrarian could still prefer ULTA for its stronger P/E (grade B).
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 FIVE and ULTA diverge
On the headline score the gap is 10.8 points in favor of FIVE. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueFIVE 77.7 · ULTA 57.0FIVE +20.7
GrowthFIVE 93.8 · ULTA 78.2FIVE +15.6
QualityFIVE 78.3 · ULTA 84.5ULTA +6.2
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 FIVE or ULTA the better stock?
FIVE scores higher: FIVE 83.0, ULTA 72.2 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 FIVE and ULTA differ most?
The widest gap is value, where FIVE leads by 21 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are FIVE and ULTA 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.