Ulta Beauty management check
ULTA · Consumer Discretionary · Other Specialty Retail · CEO Kecia L. Steelman
Filings as of
4 good · 3 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $231, against $159 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.52 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Watch
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.3% of net income$15.4m of reported pay in fiscal 2026, against $1.2bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.4 years of payThe CEO holds 40,489 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.4 years of pay. 3 insiders sold $1.6m in the last six months and none bought.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -4.8% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.3% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
11 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Kecia L. Steelman. 11 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Consumer Discretionary.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 70 | |
| Pay for performance | 76 | 79 | |
| CEO cost | 40 | 44 | |
| Skin in the game | 23 | 36 | |
| Dilution | 100 | 74 | |
| Stable leadership | 70 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Other Specialty Retail, by management score. Ulta Beauty is 18th of 47 in its sector.
- 140ULTAUlta Beauty73
- 144GRMNGarmin72
- 159NVRNVR, Inc.72
- 160LVSLas Vegas Sands72
- 164ORLYO'Reilly Automotive71
- 311TSCOTractor Supply60
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 22, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Kecia L. Steelman | $15.4m | $33.9m | $2.9m | $231 | $159 | $1.2bn |
| 2025 | — | $12.5m | $9.1m | $1.6m | $160 | $213 | $1.2bn |
| 2024 | — | $12.7m | $12.3m | $3.3m | $189 | $174 | $1.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $13.5m | $31.2m | $4.5m | $189 | $124 | $1.2bn |
| 2022 | — | $8.5m | $22.6m | $3.0m | $134 | $150 | $986.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Earnings Before Taxes (“EBT”). Its other key measures: Earnings Before Tax (EBT), Revenue, Total Stockholder Return (TSR).
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Kecia Steelman (President and CEO) held 40,489 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 17, 2026, roughly $22.1m at that filing's price.
3 insiders sold $1.6m in the last six months and none bought.
- SoldKecia SteelmanPresident and CEO$1.1mSep 17, 2026
- SoldLorna NaglerDirector$322kSep 11, 2026
- SoldGeorge R Jr MrkonicDirector$182kJun 15, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 14, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 18, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 16, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 21, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 30, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 14, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 30, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 18, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 9, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $5.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 91% of net income, and $218.8m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.6bn | $10.2bn | $11.2bn | $11.3bn | $12.4bn |
| Net income | $986.0m | $1.2bn | $1.3bn | $1.2bn | $1.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $47.3m | $43.0m | $48.2m | $42.8m | $37.4m |
| Buybacks | $1.5bn | $900.0m | $995.7m | $1.0bn | $901.4m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 55m | 52m | 50m | 47m | 45m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.