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Ulta Beauty (Ulta Beauty) Free Cash Flow

: $1,041 Mil (TTM As of Jan. 2024)
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Ulta Beauty's total free cash flow for the months ended in Jan. 2024 was $994 Mil. Its total free cash flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Jan. 2024 was $1,041 Mil.

Ulta Beauty's Free Cash Flow per Share for the months ended in Jan. 2024 was $20.35. Its free cash flow per share for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Jan. 2024 was $21.20.

During the past 12 months, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate of Ulta Beauty was -7.20% per year. During the past 3 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 21.70% per year. During the past 5 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 16.10% per year. During the past 10 years, the average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 34.90% per year. Please click Growth Rate Calculation Example (GuruFocus) to see how GuruFocus calculates Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT)'s revenue growth rate. You can apply the same method to get the Free Cash Flow Growth Rate using Free Cash Flow per Share data.

During the past 13 years, Ulta Beauty's highest 3-Year average Free Cash Flow per Share Growth Rate was 107.00% per year. The lowest was -93.90% per year. And the median was 21.70% per year.


Ulta Beauty Free Cash Flow Historical Data

The historical data trend for Ulta Beauty's Free Cash Flow can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* Premium members only.

Ulta Beauty Annual Data
Trend Jan15 Jan16 Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24
Free Cash Flow
Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 802.76 658.49 887.08 1,169.79 1,041.00

Ulta Beauty Quarterly Data
Apr19 Jul19 Oct19 Jan20 Apr20 Jul20 Oct20 Jan21 Apr21 Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24
Free Cash Flow Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 800.32 195.14 28.93 -177.08 994.02

Ulta Beauty Free Cash Flow Calculation

Free Cash Flow is considered one of the most important parameters to measure a company's earnings power by value investors because it is not subject to estimates of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization (DDA). However, when we look at the Free Cash Flow, we should look from a long term perspective, because any year's Free Cash Flow can be drastically affected by the spending on Property, Plant, & Equipment (PPE) of the business in that year. Over the long term, Free Cash Flow should give pretty good picture on the real earnings power of the company.

Ulta Beauty's Free Cash Flow for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2024 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (A: Jan. 2024 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=1476.266+-435.267
=1,041

Ulta Beauty's Free Cash Flow for the quarter that ended in Jan. 2024 is calculated as

Free Cash Flow (Q: Jan. 2024 )=Cash Flow from Operations+Capital Expenditure
=1118.255+-124.237
=994

Free Cash Flow for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Jan. 2024 adds up the quarterly data reported by the company within the most recent 12 months, which was $1,041 Mil.

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Ulta Beauty  (NAS:ULTA) Free Cash Flow Explanation

Free Cash Flow is very close to Warren Buffett's definition of Owner's Earnings, except that in Warren Buffett's Owner's Earnings, the spending for Property, Plant, and Equipment is only for maintenance (replacement), while in the Free Cash Flow calculation, the cost of new Property, Plant, and Equipment due to business expansion is also deducted. There, Free Cash Flow is more conservative than Owner's Earnings.

In Don Yacktman's calculation of forward rate of return, he uses Free Cash Flow for the calculation. Yacktman explained the forward rate of return concept in detail in his interview with GuruFocus. Yacktman defines forward rate of return as the normalized free cash flow yield plus real growth plus inflation.

This is what Yacktman said in his March 2012 interview - when the S&P 500 was at 1400:

If the business is stable, this calculation is fairly straightforward. For instance, on the S&P 500 we would normalize earnings. We would then calculate what percentage of those earnings are not reinvested in the underlying businesses and are therefore free. Historically, for the S&P 500, this has been just under 50% of earnings. Currently, we expect the S&P to earn about 70 on a normalized basis, a number which is far below reported earnings due to our adjusting for record high profit margins. $70 X ½ / 1400 gives you a normalized free cash flow yield of approximately 2.5%.

The historical real growth rate of the S&P 500 (companies) is about 1.5%. Assuming an inflation rate of 2.5%, the forward rate of return on an investment in the S&P 500 is about 6.5% today (2.5% free cash flow yield plus 1.5% real growth plus 2.5% inflation).

For the growth part of the Forward Rate of Return calculation, GuruFocus uses the 5-year average growth rate of EBITDA per share as the growth rate, and the growth rate is always capped at 20%. For the Free Cash Flow we use per share data averaged over seven years. The reason we use seven years is because research shows that seven years is the length of the typical business cycle.

Therefore, as of Jan24, Ulta Beauty's Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % is

Forward Rate of Return (Yacktman) % (Jan24)=Normalized Free Cash Flow/Price+5-Year EBITDA Growth Rate
=17.44933333/502.05+0.2
=23.48 %

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.


Be Aware

Free Cash Flow within a report period can be affected by management's decisions of capital spending. Therefore, it is important to look at long term when it comes to Free Cash Flow.


Ulta Beauty Free Cash Flow Related Terms

Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Ulta Beauty's Free Cash Flow provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.


Ulta Beauty (Ulta Beauty) Business Description

Address
1000 Remington Boulevard, Suite 120, Bolingbrook, IL, USA, 60440
With 1,355 stores at the end of fiscal 2022 and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the U.S. The firm offers makeup (42% of 2022 sales), fragrances, skin care, and hair care products (21% of 2022 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.
Executives
Lorna Nagler director 2400 XENIUM LANE NORTH, PLYMOUTH MN 55441
Jodi J Caro officer: GC and Corporate Secretary 130 EAST RANDOLPH STREET, CHICAGO IL 60601
Catherine Ann Halligan director 243 CASELLI AVENUE, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94114
Mrkonic George R Jr director C/O BORDERS GROUP INC, 100 PHOENIX DRIVE, ANN ARBOR MI 48108
Kelly E Garcia director 30 FRANK LLOYD WRIGH DR, ANN ARBOR MI 48105
Heidi G Petz director 101 W. PROSPECT AVENUE, CLEVELAND OH 44115
Gisel Ruiz director C/O VITAL FARMS, INC., 3601 SOUTH CONGRESS AVENUE, SUITE C100, AUSTIN TX 78704
Mike C. Smith director STITCH FIX, INC., ONE MONTGOMERY STREET, SUITE 1500, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94104
Michael R Macdonald director 810 DSW DRIVE, COLUMBUS OH 43219
Patricia A Little director 999 W BIG BEAVER ROAD, TROY MI 48084
Michelle L Collins director C/O MOLEX INCORPORATED, 2222 WELLINGTON COURT, LISLE IL 60503
Anita Jane Ryan officer: Chief Human Resources Officer 1000 REMINGTON BLVD., SUITE 120, BOLINGBROOK IL 60440
David C Kimbell director, officer: Chief Executive Officer 8410 W. BRYN MAWR, CHICAGO IL 60631
Scott M Settersten officer: Chief Financial Officer 1000 REMINGTON BLVD., SUITE 120, BOLINGBROOK IL 60440
Kecia Steelman officer: Chief Operating Officer 1000 REMINGTON BLVD SUITE 120, BOLINGBROOK IL 60440

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