4 Things Ulta Beauty Investors Need to Know

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) reported its third quarter earnings last week, and there were plenty of reasons for long-term investors to cheer. While the cosmetics industry overall saw a slowdown over the summer, the company is proving once again to be a standout leader in this space.

After diving into management's comments from the earnings call, here is what Ulta investors need to know.

In contrast to the second quarter, when Ulta limited discounts in favor of preserving margins, the company decided to offer customized discounts to win back customers after the color cosmetics category slowed, and Hurricanes Harvey and Irma disrupted sales. While that decreased gross margin 110 basis points to 37.6%, management pointed to strength in these other metrics:

Source: Fool.com