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Ulta Beauty (ULTA) CEO Kecia Steelman is just getting started on her growth plan.
“We’ve publicly said we believe we could have 1,800 stores I still believe that today through different types of prototypes, etc.,” Steelman said in a new episode of Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast (see video above; listen below).
Ulta Beauty currently has 1,514 stores across the US.
Steelman’s rise is a quintessential “climb to the top” story, rooted in resilience and operational expertise.
Growing up in a small farming community in Iowa, Steelman began her retail career in 1993 as an $8-an-hour associate at Target (TGT) when she was a 20-year-old single mother living in government housing.
Over the next three decades, she built a formidable resume with leadership stints at The Home Depot and Family Dollar before joining Ulta in 2014.
At Ulta, she served as chief operations officer, president, and COO before taking the CEO role in January 2025.
Since then, Steelman has launched the “Ulta Beauty Unleashed” strategy, focusing on international expansion in the UK, Mexico, and the Middle East, while overseeing a workforce that’s 91% female. Ulta’s shares are up 57% over the past year.
Read more: Ulta vs. Sephora: Which beauty credit card is best?
She is also focused on bringing more artificial intelligence to the Ulta shopping experience.
Ulta executives at the National Retail Federation (NRF) conference earlier this year highlighted that 60% of shoppers now use AI platforms like ChatGPT to start their shopping journey. Ulta is leveraging first-party data from its 46.7 million loyalty members to build custom AI agents designed to act as digital beauty consultants.
“I think agentic AI is going to potentially bring in a new consumer that might not have even thought about Ulta Beauty,” Steelman said.
Steelman has had a good number of tailwinds at her back. The beauty industry in 2025 demonstrated impressive resilience in the face of affordability headwinds. Sales of prestige beauty (or higher-end brands) grew by 4% to reach $36 billion, according to US data from Circana, while mass-market beauty outperformed, rising 5% to $72.7 billion.
Fragrance was the standout growth engine in the mass-market channel, with sales soaring 17%. Prestige fragrance saw a 5% sales lift as consumers treated “mini” and travel-sized scents as affordable indulgences.
Moreover, the “skinification” trend — hybrid products blending skin care with makeup — anchored growth in the cosmetics category, reflecting a holistic shift toward wellness and self-care that has made beauty a non-discretionary “mental well-being” investment for many households.
For its part, Ulta Beauty delivered a record-breaking performance last year.
Sales gained nearly 10% to reach $12.4 billion. This growth was underpinned by a 5.4% increase in comparable sales, driven by a healthy balance of higher foot traffic and increased average transaction values.
The company’s success was fueled by its aforementioned “Ulta Beauty Unleashed” strategy, which focused on product newness. It launched over 100 new brands, such as Moroccan Oil and Cécred (the largest prestige haircare launch in its history).
“We think the drivers of growth in 2025 continue into 2026 as the company benefits from an ongoing healthy industry and better execution across the store including new brand launches,” Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane said in a note. “We also believe Ulta stores can see a lift in the second half of the year when Target closes its Ulta Beauty by Target shops. Further, we think management is focused on prioritizing SG&A spend in order to further improve operating margins.”
Products on display at the JOICO brand x Kate Hudson Joico Celebrity Spokesperson in-store event at Ulta Beauty on Sept. 6, 2025, in Westwood, Calif. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Joico)
(Phillip Faraone via Getty Images)
McShane reiterated a Buy rating on Ulta’s shares.
Steelman said Ulta plans to keep the product innovation going this year.
“One of the trends that we’re seeing right now is K [Korean] Beauty,” Steelman added. “I think K Beauty, especially in skincare, it’s coming and it’s here to stay. And I will say that I’ve tried some products that I think are pretty fantastic. So stay tuned … We’re one of the largest in the United States right now with carrying K Beauty. But we’re going to continue to elevate and carry even more.”
Each week, Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi fields insight-filled conversations and chats with the biggest names in business and markets on Opening Bid Unfiltered. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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