COMPARE · Data as of August 24, 2026
ROST vs ULTA
Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ROST scored 46.5, ULTA scored 69.4 — ULTA leads.
Compare another set
ROST
Ross Stores, Inc.
46.5
$241.52 · $77.5B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
22.9
ULTA leads
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
69.4
$538.76 · $23.2B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
- CheapestULTA20.2x
- Fastest growthROST+11.9%
- Strongest balance sheetROST0.70
- Highest qualityULTA84 / 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)
ROST
stronger →← stronger
ULTA
83
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
84
75
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
83
16
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
48
ULTA is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ROST
ULTA
$2.6bB
FCF
$1.1bC+
+11.9%B
Rev
+11.3%B
0.70B+
D/E
0.89B
28.9xC+
P/E
20.2xB
2.82C
PEG
1.81C+
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
ROST
ULTA
66% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
4% above
~18%/yr
Growth the price implies10-yr FCF · lower = less priced in
~8%/yr
-43%
1-yr DCF upside
-13%
-40%
5-yr DCF upside
-4%
-35%
10-yr DCF upside
+11%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ROST
Why this score
- Raising its dividend
- Durable high returns
ULTA
Why this score
- Buying back stock
- Durable high returns
The companies
ROSTRoss Stores, Inc.
Why now
Apparel Retail · market cap $77.5b. 6% off the 52-week high of $257.00. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 18 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $269.94 (implying +12% upside).
Moat
ROE 37% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 114% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash, a sign that working capital and capex are well-disciplined. $77.5b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
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.
ULTAUlta Beauty, Inc.
Why now
Specialty Retail · market cap $23.2b. Down 25% from 52-week high of $714.97 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. 24 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $623.42 (implying +16% upside).
Moat
ROE 46% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 95% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash, a sign that working capital and capex are well-disciplined.
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
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
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 ROST and ULTA diverge
On the headline score the gap is 22.9 points in favor of ULTA. The widest single difference is Value, where ULTA leads by 31.6 points.
- ValueROST 16.3 · ULTA 47.9ULTA +31.6
- GrowthROST 74.5 · ULTA 83.3ULTA +8.8
- QualityROST 82.6 · ULTA 83.9level
Pillars run 0–100 against sector peers, so a 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.