With 1,385 stores at the end of fiscal 2023 and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the US. The firm offers makeup (41% of 2023 sales), fragrances, skin care (19% of sales), and hair care products (19% of sales), and bath and body items. Ulta offers private-label products and merchandise from more than 500 vendors. It also offers salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow services, in all stores. Most Ulta stores are approximately 10,000 square feet and are in suburban strip centers. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

With 1,385 stores at the end of fiscal 2023 and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the U.S. The firm offers makeup (41% of 2023 sales), fragrances, skin care (19% of sales), and hair care products (19% of sales), and bath and body items. Ulta offers private-label products and merchandise from more than 500 vendors. It also offers salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow services, in all stores. Most Ulta stores are approximately 10,000 square feet and are in suburban strip centers. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

After a calm first quarter, when the VIX Volatility Index averaged a low 13.5, the closely watched "fear index" has jumped five points in April and the S&P 500 has slipped 5%. Are we headed for a market correction or even a visit from the bear? After a remarkable 27% run from late October 2023 through March, stocks appear to be reacting to some of the risks we have highlighted for 2024, such as geopolitical developments (Mideast, Russia, China), high interest rates (the Fed hasn't cut yet), the chance of recession (the yield curve is still inverted), stubborn inflation, and the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election. On the positive side, we continue to anticipate that the U.S. economy will avoid a recession into 2025, the Federal Reserve will start to lower interest rates later this year, and earnings growth is poised to accelerate over the next few quarters. All that said, the current VIX reading is around 18.5, which is below the 15-year average of 20.5 and signals that investors aren't overly worried (yet) about the outlook. This reading compares to the average VIX of 24 during the most-recent bear market and 35 during the financial crisis of 2008-2009. During the long bull market in the 2010s, the VIX averaged 18 and even touched lows below 10 in 2017. We continue to think that the S&P 500 is in the early innings of a new bull market that dates to October 2022. And while the path for equities won't be straight up, we suggest investors over-weight their portfolios toward stocks at the current market and economic juncture.

Ulta Beauty is a leading retailer of cosmetics, fragrances, skin care, haircare, bath, and beauty products, with a salon services segment specializing in hair styling and make-up. Founded in 1990, the company is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois, and has over 55,000 employees. The company operates over 1,300 retail stores across 50 states. It also markets cosmetics and fragrances through its website and direct mail.