SBH

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Sally Beauty (SBH). Shares have lost about 1.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent negative trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Sally Beauty due for a breakout? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts. Sally Beauty delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues fell slightly short. The bottom line improved year over year, while sales increased marginally from the prior-year quarter. Management highlighted continued momentum in its strategic initiatives, including digital investments, product innovation, customer engagement and store refresh programs. While Beauty Systems Group remained under pressure due to softness in the Care category, management pointed to encouraging trends in color products and ongoing efforts to strengthen the business. Management also noted that adjusted operating earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at the high end of the company's guidance range, supported by healthy gross margins and disciplined SG&A management. The company narrowed its fiscal 2026 guidance within its previously announced ranges, while raising the low end of its adjusted earnings per share outlook. Investors responded favorably to the earnings beat, margin expansion and strong cash flow generation, sending SBH shares 7.8% higher in the last trading session. Adjusted earnings of 55 cents per share beat the consensus estimate of 53 cents by 3.8% and increased 7.8% from 51 cents in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share rose 25% year over year to 55 cents. Net sales of $935.5 million rose 0.2% year over year but missed the consensus mark of $936 million by 0.1%. Sales included a 50-basis-point favorable impact from foreign currency translation despite operating 39 fewer stores. Comparable sales remained flat during the quarter. Color remained resilient across both segments, while weakness in the Care category weighed on overall performance. Global e-commerce sales increased 11% year over year to $110 million, representing 12% of quarterly net sales. The business delivered four consecutive quarters of double-digit online growth, supported by updated apps, marketplaces and buy-online-pick-up-in-store activity. In the Sally Beauty Supply segment, net sales increased 2.2% year over year to $538.6 million, including a 90-basis-point foreign currency benefit. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $534 million. Comparable sales rose 1.6%, which was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1% growth. This increase was driven by 0.6% transaction growth and a 1% increase in average ticket. Sally U.S. and Canada delivered 3.5% comparable sales growth. Color sales increased 8% across the segment and 9% in Sally U.S. and Canada, while Care declined 6%. E-commerce sales climbed 20% to $52 million, representing 10% of segment sales. U.S. and Canada online sales advanced 28%. Gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 61.5%, supported by higher product margins from the Fuel for Growth program, while segment operating margin improved 80 basis points to 16.6%. Beauty Systems Group (“BSG”) net sales declined 2.4% to $396.9 million, reflecting nine fewer stores. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for segment sales is pegged at $402 million. Comparable sales fell 2.1%, as transactions decreased 3.2%, partly offset by a 1.1% rise in average ticket. BSG’s Color category grew 1%, while Care declined 5%. The company faced a difficult comparison with the prior-year K18 launch, while stylists remained selective about hair care and styling-tool purchases. BSG e-commerce sales increased 4% to $58 million, representing 15% of segment revenues. Gross margin expanded 70 basis points to 40.1%, supported by higher product margins from the Fuel for Growth program, while segment operating margin contracted 20 basis points to 12.3%. The updated Sally app delivered order and sales growth that outpaced sessions, while average order value increased 6%. Licensed Colorist On Demand consultations exceeded 5,200 per week, and the number of new customers using the service increased 28%. These customers also purchased more frequently than nonusers. The company completed 33 Sally Ignited store refreshes through July and plans 17 more in the fourth quarter, reaching 80 locations by fiscal year-end. Management said refreshed stores continued to outperform the fleet, with gains in traffic, dwell time, units per transaction and average transaction value. Fragrance and nails remained standout categories. Fragrance, now available in 2,000 stores, primarily attracted incremental spending from existing customers. The hair-care reset includes Yellow and NatureLab. Tokyo, along with expanded offerings from Design Essentials, The Doux and Camille Rose. SBH’s adjusted gross margin expanded 40 basis points year over year to 52.4% from 52% in the prior-year period, reflecting improved product margins driven by the company's Fuel for Growth program. Gross margin expanded 90 basis points to 52.4%. On the cost side, adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses totaled $404 million, increasing $5 million from the prior-year period. Adjusted SG&A expenses remained flat at 43.2% of net sales. Higher labor and rent expenses were partially offset by approximately $2 million of Fuel for Growth benefits. SBH generated adjusted operating earnings of $87 million, compared with $86.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating margin improved 10 basis points to 9.3% from 9.2% in the prior-year period. Operating earnings increased 10.5% to $86.4 million, while operating margin expanded 80 basis points to 9.2%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.8% year over year to $117.4 million from $115.3 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 10 basis points to 12.5% from 12.4% in the year-ago quarter. The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $173.1 million and no outstanding borrowings under its asset-based revolving credit facility. Inventory declined 1% year over year to $996 million. During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, operating cash flow totaled $81 million, while free cash flow was $62 million. Capital allocation remained focused on strengthening the balance sheet and returning cash to shareholders. During the quarter, SBH repaid $20 million of term loan debt and repurchased 1.9 million shares for $25 million, ending the period with a net debt leverage ratio of 1.4x. Management narrowed its fiscal 2026 net sales outlook to $3.725-$3.733 billion from $3.725-$3.750 billion. The outlook assumes an approximately 30-basis-point favorable impact from foreign currency rates. Comparable sales are expected to rise approximately 0.5%, compared with the prior forecast of flat to 1% growth. The company projects adjusted operating earnings in the range of $329-$335 million, while adjusted earnings per share are expected to be $2.04-$2.08, compared with the earlier guidance of $2.02-$2.10. Capital expenditures remain forecast at approximately $100 million, and free cash flow is expected to be roughly $200 million. The company plans to deploy about 50% of free cash flow toward share repurchases. Fuel for Growth is still expected to generate approximately $45 million of benefits in fiscal 2026, with cumulative run-rate savings reaching about $120 million by fiscal year-end. The company reiterated that it expects Happy Beauty's e-commerce site to launch by the end of the fourth quarter. It turns out, estimates revision flatlined during the past month. Currently, Sally Beauty has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top 20% for value investors. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Sally Beauty has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Sally Beauty is part of the Zacks Retail - Miscellaneous industry. Over the past month, Tractor Supply (TSCO), a stock from the same industry, has gained 4.8%. The company reported its results for the quarter ended June 2026 more than a month ago. Tractor Supply reported revenues of $4.54 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.3%. EPS of $0.81 for the same period compares with $0.81 a year ago. Tractor Supply is expected to post earnings of $0.40 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -18.4%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -2.4%. Tractor Supply has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of D. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA delivered another solid quarter as beauty newness, omnichannel demand and disciplined execution supported profitable growth. For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, earnings of $6.55 per share rose 13.3% year over year and beat the consensus estimate of $6.21. Net sales increased 8.9% to $3,035.7 million, topping the consensus estimate of $2,973 million. Comparable sales jumped 3.8%, driven by higher average ticket, while transactions were roughly flat. Ulta Beauty Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Ulta Beauty Inc. Quote Ulta Beauty continued to generate growth across stores and digital. E-commerce sales increased in the high-teens range, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit digital growth. Comparable-store sales posted modest growth as the company lapped a strong year-ago performance.The company opened 13 net new Ulta Beauty stores and one net new Space NK store during the quarter. Excluding Space NK, total sales increased in the strong mid-single-digit range. Stores fulfilled more than 50% of e-commerce orders, allowing ULTA to use its physical network to improve omnichannel convenience and fulfillment efficiency. Fragrance remained the strongest category, generating high-teen comparable sales growth on successful gifting events and compelling newness. Haircare delivered high-single-digit comparable growth, supported by prestige haircare, treatments and hair tools. K-Beauty sales also increased at a robust double-digit rate, with nearly half of sales coming from exclusive brands or products.Makeup comparable sales were approximately flat as prestige gains offset a low-single-digit decline in mass makeup. Skincare and wellness declined modestly, with growth in prestige and mass skincare and double-digit wellness gains more than offset by weaker body-care sales. Services generated mid-single-digit comparable growth on solid engagement in salon and specialty services. Gross profit increased 8.7% year over year to $1,186.95 million. Gross margin declined 10 basis points (bps) to 39.1%, primarily reflecting the Space NK business mix. Within the core Ulta Beauty business, lower shrink, supply-chain productivity and merchandise-margin preservation supported modest gross-margin improvement.SG&A expenses increased 8.2% to $802.78 million, but declined 20 bps as a percentage of sales to 26.4%. Lower incentive compensation and corporate-overhead leverage partly offset Space NK costs and higher advertising investments. Operating income rose 10.1% to $379.64 million, while operating margin improved 10 bps to 12.5%. Net income increased 8.1% to $282.01 million. Ulta Beauty ended the quarter with about 47 million active loyalty members, up 3% year over year, while average spending per member increased. The mobile app represented more than 60% of online sales, and management continued using personalization capabilities to drive incremental sales and engagement.Marketplace expanded to more than 450 brands and over 12,000 SKUs, while UB Media delivered double-digit growth. Space NK generated robust sales growth and continued to gain market share. In Mexico, Ulta Beauty ended the quarter with 12 stores as the company continued expanding its international presence. Merchandise inventory was nearly flat year over year at $2,406.73 million, while inventory per store declined 4.1%. Cash and short-term investments totaled $213.45 million, while short-term debt was $339.58 million. First-half operating cash flow reached $381.59 million, and capital expenditures totaled $139.53 million.ULTA repurchased $791.10 million of stock during the first six months of fiscal 2026. The company raised its fiscal 2026 repurchase target to $1,800 million and expects to use the remaining $1,000 million under its current share repurchase authorization by fiscal year-end. Management raised fiscal 2026 net sales growth guidance to 6.7-7.2% from 6-7% and comparable sales growth expectations to 3.2-3.7% from 2.5-3.5%. Operating income growth is now projected at 8.3-9.3%, up from 6.5-9%.  Earnings guidance increased to $28.70-$29.00 per share from $28.36-$28.80.For the second half, Ulta Beauty expects net sales growth of 4-5%, comparable sales growth of 2-3%, operating profit growth of 6-8% and earnings growth of 9-12%. Full-year gross margin is expected to remain roughly flat, while operating margin could improve by up to 20 bps. Capital expenditures remain projected at $400-$450 million.Shares of the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have gained 6.1% in the past three months against the industry’s 3.8% decline. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. SBH, a retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies, currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). SBH delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.4%, on average. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sally Beauty’s current financial-year sales and EPS is expected to rise 0.8% and around 9%, respectively, from the year-ago reported figures.Five Below, Inc. FIVE operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States and currently holds a Zacks Rank #2. FIVE delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 70.1%, on average.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Five Below’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings indicates growth of 15.1% and 36.7%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers. Target Corporation TGT offers guests fashionable, differentiated merchandise and everyday essentials at discounted prices. It currently has a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target’s current financial-year sales and EPS indicates growth of 4.6% and 37.7%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers. TGT delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10.5%, on average. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Target Corporation (TGT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. SBH posted fiscal third-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of 55 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 53 cents. Net sales edged up 0.2% to $935.5 million and comparable sales were flat. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. Quote The quarter showed a widening gap between profitability and demand. Margin gains and cost actions supported earnings, but weakness in Care and Beauty Systems Group leaves the fiscal fourth quarter dependent on new assortment, digital and store initiatives. Adjusted earnings increased 7.8% year over year and topped the consensus estimate by 3.8%. Adjusted operating earnings reached $87 million, the high end of management's guidance range. Adjusted gross margin expanded 40 basis points to 52.4%, primarily on higher product margins from Fuel for Growth. That improvement helped SBH produce better bottom-line growth despite limited sales expansion. Sally Beauty's Supply net sales rose 2.2% to $538.6 million, while comparable sales increased 1.6%. Color sales advanced 8%, helping offset a 6% decline in Care. Beauty Systems Group moved the other way. Net sales fell 2.4% to $396.9 million and comparable sales declined 2.1%, with Care down 5%. The split makes category mix and BSG demand central to SBH's near-term earnings profile. Fuel for Growth delivered $9 million of pretax benefits across gross margin and selling, general and administrative expenses in the quarter. Sally Beauty's gross margin rose 60 basis points to 61.5%, while BSG's expanded 70 basis points to 40.1%. Management still expects approximately $45 million of fiscal 2026 benefits and about $120 million of cumulative run-rate savings over the three-year program by fiscal year-end. Continued margin support matters as higher labor and rent expenses keep pressure on operating costs. SBH narrowed fiscal 2026 net sales guidance to $3.725-$3.733 billion from $3.725-$3.750 billion. Comparable sales are now expected to increase approximately 0.5% compared with the prior range of flat to 1% growth. Adjusted earnings guidance tightened to $2.04-$2.08 per share from $2.02-$2.10. The higher low end preserves some earnings resilience, but the lower top end and narrower sales range leave less room for demand softness in the final quarter. The fiscal fourth-quarter watch list includes the early-stage Care reset, fragrance now in 2,000 stores, continued e-commerce growth, 17 additional Sally Ignited refreshes and the planned Happy Beauty e-commerce launch. Global e-commerce sales rose 11% in the third quarter, the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Adjacent beauty retailers offer useful category context. Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA is a specialty beauty retailer spanning cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care and salon services. e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. ELF operates across cosmetics and skin care and expanded into hair care in June 2026. For SBH, the test is whether its own initiatives create enough incremental demand to offset BSG and Care softness. SBH enters the final quarter with better margins, positive Sally segment growth and expanding digital activity, but BSG weakness and tighter sales guidance keep the operating picture mixed. Execution on Care, fragrance and store refreshes will determine whether profitability gains remain durable. SBH trades at 7.26X forward 12-month earnings, below the Zacks industry's 15.82X. The multiple is above the stock's one-year median of 7.05X, leaving the shares discounted to broader benchmarks but not to their own recent history. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SBH carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a VGM Score of A, alongside a Value Score of A, a Growth Score of B and a Momentum Score of D. The favorable Rank and A/B scores support the near-term profile, while the weaker Momentum Score tempers the signal. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Sally Beauty’s results for Q2 were well received by the market, reflecting steady execution in a challenging environment. Management cited strong growth in the Sally segment, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, driven by increased customer transactions and ticket size. CEO Denise Paulonis pointed to color products as a standout, noting, “color was up 8%” in the Sally segment, along with positive e-commerce trends and higher engagement from the company’s Licensed Colorist On Demand service. The company’s ongoing cost discipline and improvements in gross margin contributed to stronger non-GAAP earnings. Is now the time to buy SBH? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $935.5 million vs analyst estimates of $938.3 million (flat year on year, in line) Adjusted EPS: $0.55 vs analyst estimates of $0.53 (3% beat) Adjusted EBITDA: $117.4 million vs analyst estimates of $115.3 million (12.5% margin, 1.8% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $3.73 billion at the midpoint Management reiterated its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance of $2.06 at the midpoint Operating Margin: 9.2%, in line with the same quarter last year Locations: 4,386 at quarter end, down from 4,425 in the same quarter last year Same-Store Sales were flat year on year, in line with the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.58 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Julia Shelanski (TD Cowen) asked about early signals from the hair care planogram reset and fragrance sales. CEO Denise Paulonis said it is too early for metrics on the reset but noted store associate enthusiasm and described fragrance as a basket add for existing customers. Susan Anderson (Canaccord Genuity) questioned the disparity between Sally U.S./Canada and international performance as well as the promotional environment. Paulonis explained strategic repositioning in Europe and softer demand in Mexico, and observed more patient, value-seeking customer behavior in response to promotions. Olivia Tong Cheang (Raymond James) inquired about BSG challenges, especially in hair care and exclusivity. Paulonis cited the impact of last year’s K18 launch, highlighted strength in color and nails, and emphasized innovation and value messaging as key to reviving hair care sales. Skylar Tennant (Morgan Stanley) probed whether income cohort pressures had broadened and asked about the durability of Fuel for Growth benefits. Paulonis said consumer resilience remains strong, with only modest trade-down behavior among lower-income shoppers. CFO Adrianne Lee expects gross margin gains to be more durable but is focused on ongoing SG&A efficiencies. Sydney Wagner (Jefferies) asked about promotional intensity and unlocking hair care growth. Paulonis noted promotional activity is steady but more targeted, with care most pressured, and said the biggest unlock for care will be new assortments and focused value communication. In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will track (1) the sales impact of Sally’s hair care assortment reset and new product launches, (2) the continued ramp of e-commerce and app-driven omnichannel engagement, and (3) the performance of Ignited store remodels relative to the broader fleet. We will also monitor whether cost savings from the Fuel for Growth program translate into sustained margin gains amid evolving consumer and promotional dynamics. Sally Beauty currently trades at $16.83, up from $14.97 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,552% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. NUS posted second-quarter 2026 results, with top line missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and the bottom line matching the same. Both net sales and earnings experienced year-over-year declines. In the second quarter, Nu Skin posted adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share. The metric declined 53.5% from adjusted earnings of 43 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. The bottom line matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. Quote Quarterly revenues of $320.1 million tumbled 17.1% year over year. Revenues included a negative impact of 1% from foreign currency fluctuations. On a constant-currency basis, revenues fell 16.1%. Rhyz revenues fell 25% year over year to $48.9 million. NUS’s top line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $345 million.Sales leaders were down 9% year over year to 26,998. Nu Skin’s customer base dropped 14% to 660,037. The company’s paid affiliates were down 8% to 120,291. Gross profit declined 17.8% year over year to $218.3 million. Gross margin contracted 60 basis points to 68.2%. Within the Nu Skin business, however, gross margin improved 20 basis points to 77.7% from 77.5% in the prior-year quarter.Selling expenses declined 15.8% to $107.9 million, but increased 50 basis points to 33.7% of revenues from 33.2%. Nu Skin business’ selling expenses were 39.8%, down 20 basis points from 40% in the prior-year quarter.General and administrative expenses fell 14.9% to $90.8 million, while rising 80 basis points to 28.4% of revenues from 27.6%. Adjusted operating income decreased 36.5% year over year to $19.6 million. The company’s adjusted operating margin decreased 190 basis points to 6.1% from 8% in the year-ago quarter. Region-wise, Nu Skin’s revenues declined 18.1%, 13.7%, 14.9%, 14.4%, 13.4%, 5.3%, 24.8% and 81.5% in the Americas, Mainland China, Southeast Asia/Pacific, Japan, Europe & Africa, Hong Kong/Taiwan, South Korea and Nu Skin Other, respectively. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $189.6 million, long-term debt of $193.7 million and total stockholders' equity of $542.7 million. In the reported quarter, the company paid out dividends of $2.9 million and made no stock repurchases. The company has $137.3 million remaining under the current share repurchase authorization.Nu Skin announced a cash dividend of 6 cents per share, payable on Sept. 9, 2026, to its shareholders’ record as of Aug. 28. For 2026, NUS now expects revenues of $1.28 billion to $1.35 billion, compared with its previous outlook of $1.35 billion to $1.50 billion. The updated forecast implies a 9% to 14% year-over-year decline in revenues, including an approximately 1% unfavorable impact from foreign currency fluctuations. Adjusted EPS is now expected to range from 70 cents to 90 cents, down from the previously projected 80 cents to $1.20.For the third quarter, Nu Skin expects revenues of $310 million to $340 million, representing a year-over-year decline of 7% to 15%, including an approximate 2% to 3% negative impact from foreign exchange. Adjusted earnings are projected between 10 cents and 20 cents per share.NUS stock has fallen 21.4% in the past three months against the industry’s growth of 11.5%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. EL manufactures, markets and sells skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products worldwide. It currently has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Estee Lauder’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings calls for growth of 4.4% and 59.6%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers. EL delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 39.1%.Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. It currently holds a Zacks Rank #2. ULTA delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 10%, on average.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ulta Beauty’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings calls for growth of 10.3% and 12.3%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers.Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. SBH operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. It currently carries a Zacks Rank of 2. Sally Beauty delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.4%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sally Beauty’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings calls for growth of 0.8% and 9%, respectively, from the year-ago reported numbers. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NUS) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ulta Beauty Inc. (ULTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Image source: The Motley Fool. Monday, Aug. 3, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET President and Chief Executive Officer - Denise Paulonis Chief Financial Officer - Adrianne Lee Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer - Jeff Harkins Operator: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Sally Beauty Holdings conference call to discuss the company's third quarter fiscal 2026 results. [Operator Instructions] Now, I would like to turn the call over to Jeff Harkins, Vice President of Investor Relations and Treasurer for Sally Beauty Holdings. Jeff Harkins: Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. With me on the call today are Denise Paulonis, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Adrianne Lee, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that management's remarks on this call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those discussed in the risk factors section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements made on this call represent our views only as of today, and we undertake no obligations to update them. The company has provided a detailed explanation and reconciliations of its adjusting items and non-GAAP financial measures in its earnings press release and on its website. Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Denise to begin the formal remarks. Denise Paulonis: Thank you, Jeff, and good morning, everyone. We're pleased to report a solid quarter, delivering top and bottom line results within our guidance ranges. Fiscal Q3 net sales totaled $935 million, with comparable sales flat. Gross margin expansion and ongoing cost management translated to strong bottom line delivery. Adjusted operating income totaled $87 million. And adjusted diluted EPS came in at $0.55, an 8% increase versus a year ago. This performance enabled us to generate strong cash flow from operations of $81 million and continue to return value to shareholders in the quarter. These results highlighted both the underlying strength of our business model and the benefits we are delivering from our strategic initiatives. The quarter was led by strong growth in the Sally segment, which delivered comparable sales growth of 1.6%, including a robust 3.5% increase at Sally U.S. and Canada, driven by balanced growth in both transactions and ticket, as well as strong performance across both stores and e-commerce. From a category perspective, color continued to be a standout performer. On a total Sally segment basis, color was up 8%, while Sally U.S. and Canada delivered growth of 9%. Additionally, fragrance continues to build impressive momentum. Hair care trends have started to improve leading up to the category reset we talked about last quarter, which is rolling out this month. We believe our plans to refine our hair care product assortments, as well as the expansion of men's, will enable us to drive improvement in hair care sales performance over the coming quarters. New brands coming as part of the assortment update include Yellow and NatureLab. Tokyo. We're also expanding Design Essentials, The Doux, and Camille Rose. And in men's, we're doubling down on key brands, including Clubman and Level 3, to name a few. Importantly, our push into new, highly relevant categories, such as men's and fragrance, expands our total addressable market and positions us to capture increasing share over the long-term. Looking now at our BSG segment, stylist sentiment has remained fairly consistent through fiscal 2026. Appointment books are steady and color services continue to be strong, while add-on services have been inconsistent. In shopping behavior, stylists remain value-focused and choiceful with additional spending, particularly in hair care and styling tools. For the quarter, BSG comparable sales declined 2.1% with strength in color and nails offset by softness in hair care. For the quarter, we lapped the April 2025 launch of K18, pressuring the flat hair care sales trend of the last few quarters. We know that both value and newness drive this category, and we are laser focused on accelerating our innovation pipeline, expanding distribution, and reinforcing our value proposition to reignite the care category in the coming quarters. In fact, we have recently started to action stronger price forward messaging, which is translating to higher customer engagement and an improvement in trends. Additionally, as we start Q4, we have expanded milk_shake to hundreds more stores and just launched Virtue Labs in 300 stores. I'll now walk you through the latest updates on the initiatives supporting our four key growth drivers. Our first strategy is understanding and activating the customer. At Sally, CRM and performance marketing are driving new customer acquisition. The success of Save and Skip the Salon messaging has been a key driver, and we'll be building on that in Q4 with the rebranding of the campaign to Your Beauty Journey, No Salon Required. As we continue to reimagine beauty retail through immersive education and community connection, we're building on the success of our recent Sally Color Fest celebrations with college campus events across the southeast this month. Our experts will be bringing beauty resources, product discovery, and career networking opportunities to students at the University of Florida, Florida A&M, University of Alabama, University of Houston, and University of Texas at Austin. This is another great example of how our teams are always developing innovative ways to position Sally firmly at the center of beauty culture while driving customer engagement and new customer acquisition. Another important tool for driving customer acquisition at Sally is our Licensed Colorist On Demand service, offering free color and care advice. In fiscal Q3, average weekly consultations exceeded 5,200, and the number of new customers increased by 28% versus the prior year. LCOD customers continued to outspend non-LCOD customers driven by increased frequency. In a nutshell, this service brings new customers to Sally and increases engagement by providing the digital equivalent of the accessible, friendly education and support that our store associates are known for. Now shifting to our second growth driver, unlocking and harvesting digital value. Global e-commerce sales increased 11% in fiscal Q3, driven by continued strength in Sally's marketplaces, as well as the rollout of updated apps of both business segments earlier this year. On the Sally app, we're seeing strong engagement and higher conversion with order and sales growth outpacing sessions. Average order value is strong, up 6% in fiscal Q3. Notably, buy online, pick up in store represented the majority of app order volume in the quarter, our most efficient delivery channel. At BSG, order and sales growth also outpaced sessions as features such as faster checkout, simplified reordering, inventory near me, and Apple Pay provided an improved customer experience. Similar to the Sally app, a significant portion of orders are being fulfilled through buy online, pick up in store. Moving to our third growth driver, differentiating with product assortment and innovation. Across both segments, innovation has always been a key competitive differentiator and central to unlocking growth. At Sally, strong performance in both own and national brands is being fueled by innovation. Newness and brand refresh initiatives are resulting in improved performance across own brands like Beauty Secrets, ion Luxe, Salon Care, and Texture ID. As mentioned earlier, we also have a significant newness update coming on the national brand front with the assortment update in hair care. At BSG, recent brand launches like milk_shake, Keratin Complex, and Epilogue by Danger Jones continue to build momentum. As I mentioned, we have more innovation coming in fiscal '27. Our fourth growth driver is accelerating new growth pathways. Let's start with our Sally Ignited initiative, where we have seen significant runway ahead. As of the end of July, we have completed 33 store refreshes year-to-date, and we have another 17 planned for fiscal Q4. This puts us on track with our plan to complete 50 remodels in fiscal 2026, which will put us at 80 Ignited locations by the end of September. As we watch KPIs, we're incredibly pleased with the way customers are responding. Traffic, dwell times, UPT, and ATV all continue to move up and to the right, with sales growth nicely outperforming the fleet. From a category perspective, nails and fragrance remain standout performers. We are well underway with planning for the next phase of the rollout. More to come next quarter on our strategy for increasing scaled Ignited business in fiscal 2027. In the skin and spa category, we are ramping BSG's presence and methodically expanding our footprint. During the quarter, we added IMAGE and Matter of Fact brands to another 250 stores and launched Amika skin care across all of our U.S. and Canada locations. Before wrapping up, I'll briefly touch on our Happy Beauty initiative. At a high level, our mall locations continue to outperform with strong performance in key categories such as cosmetics, fragrance, and skincare. Ahead of the holiday season, we plan to open another 10 mall locations. Equally exciting, we're preparing for the upcoming launch of our Happy Beauty e-commerce site at the end of the fourth quarter. As we focus on driving sustainable, profitable growth, our Fuel for Growth program is delivering benefits across gross margin and SG&A. We are tracking to our plan to generate $45 million of benefits in fiscal 2026, and we will have captured about $120 million of cumulative run rate savings over a 3-year period at the conclusion of our fiscal year in September. Entering the final months of our fiscal year, the strength of our operating model, the traction we're seeing across our strategic initiatives, and our ability to navigate dynamic macroeconomic environments give us confidence in the path ahead. I want to thank our teams across the organization for their relentless focus on our customers and disciplined execution as we work to deliver long-term shareholder value. Now I'll turn the call to Adrianne to discuss the financials. Adrianne Lee: Thank you, Denise. We're pleased to report another solid quarter. Fiscal Q3 consolidated net sales totaled $935 million, approximately flat to last year, including 50 basis points of favorable impact from foreign currency translation, partially offset by operating 39 fewer stores. Consolidated comparable sales were flat, reflecting strong growth of 3.5% at Sally U.S. and Canada, offset by softness in the balance of the portfolio. Global e-commerce sales growth remained strong, up 11% year-over-year, representing 4 consecutive quarters of double-digit growth. We maintained healthy gross profit in the quarter, with adjusted gross margin expanding 40 basis points to 52.4% when compared to a year ago. The improvement is primarily driven by higher product margins from our Fuel for Growth program. Looking to operating expenses, Q3 adjusted SG&A totaled $404 million. This is an increase of $5 million versus the prior year, partially due to higher labor and rent expense, partially offset by $2 million in Fuel for Growth benefits. Important to note, our adjusted SG&A has been relatively consistent quarter in and quarter out reflecting continued focus and discipline. During the third quarter, we captured pre-tax Fuel for Growth benefits of $9 million across gross margin and SG&A. For full year 2026, we remain on track to deliver approximately $45 million in savings, and as Denise mentioned, this would land us at our committed run rate savings of approximately $120 million over the course of the program. Adjusted operating income totaled $87 million in the quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.55, which is a $0.04 or 8% improvement versus the prior year. Both adjusted operating income and adjusted EPS came in at the high end of our guidance range as healthy gross margin and disciplined SG&A management resulted in strong bottom-line performance. Moving briefly to segment results. For Sally Beauty, top line grew 2.2% to $539 million and operating earnings were up 7.3%. Net sales growth of 2.2% included 90 basis points of favorable impact from foreign currency translation, partially offset by operating 30 fewer stores. We delivered comparable sales growth of 1.6%, driven by transaction growth of 0.6%, and an increase in average ticket of 1%. For the Global Sally Beauty segment, color grew 8%, partially offset by care down 6% versus the prior year. Sally e-commerce continued its double-digit growth trend and grew 20% to $52 million, representing 10% of segment net sales for the quarter. Sally U.S. and Canada e-commerce sales grew an impressive 28% in the third quarter. Gross margin increased 60 basis points to 61.5%, driven primarily by our Fuel for Growth program. Segment operating margin expanded by 80 basis points to 16.6%. In the BSG segment, net sales were $397 million, a decrease of 2.4% versus a year ago, and includes operating 9 fewer stores. Comparable sales declined 2.1% with transactions down 3.2% while average ticket was up 1.1% versus prior year. From a category perspective, color grew 1% and care declined 5%. BSG e-commerce sales increased 4% to $58 million, representing 15% of segment net sales for the quarter. Gross margin at BSG expanded 70 basis points to 40.1%, primarily driven by higher product margins from our Fuel for Growth program. Segment operating margin declined 20 basis points to 12.3%. We ended the quarter with a healthy balance sheet and strong cash flow. At quarter end, cash and cash equivalents totaled $173 million, and we had no outstanding borrowings under our ABL credit facility. Inventory levels at quarter end totaled $996 million, down 1% versus last year, and in line with our expectations. The business generated strong cash flow from operations of $81 million and free cash flow of $62 million. This enabled us to invest in the business, pay down $20 million of term loan debt, bringing our net debt leverage ratio to 1.4x, and to return cash to shareholders through the repurchase of $25 million of stock under our repurchase program. Moving to guidance. Entering the final quarter of fiscal 2026, we are narrowing our full-year outlook to reflect our current top-line trends of sales growth momentum in Sally U.S. and Canada, the underlying strength of our core hair color category, double-digit e-commerce growth, and the effectiveness of our marketing initiatives offset by softness in the care category. We are pleased with how our teams are navigating and delivering results. For the full year fiscal 2026, we expect consolidated net sales in the range of $3.725 billion to $3.733 billion, which includes approximately 30 basis points of favorable impact from foreign currency rates. Comparable sales are now expected to be approximately 0.5%. Adjusted operating earnings are now expected to be in the range of $329 million to $335 million. Adjusted diluted earnings are now expected to be in the range of $2.04 to $2.08 per share, which compares to our prior range of $2.02 to $2.10. The following guidance remains unchanged. 50% of free cash flow is expected to be deployed to share repurchases. Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $100 million, and free cash flow is expected to be approximately $200 million. We appreciate your time this morning. Now I'll ask the operator to open the call for Q&A. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from the line of Oliver Chen with TD Cowen, your line is now open. Julia Shelanski: This is Julia Shelanski on for Oliver Chen. First, on the care planogram reset, given we're only a few weeks in, I'd love to hear about some early signals you're seeing about sell-through, basket behavior, customer feedback, and what you're learning so far that might shape how you approach the resets going forward. And second, on fragrance, and the fragrance in 2,000 stores now performing. Can you share whether that customer is predominantly incremental or more of a basket add-on for existing shoppers? Denise Paulonis: Good morning, Julia, and thanks for the questions. As you can tell, we're really excited about all the momentum at Sally, both with new product assortment, as well as everything we're doing on marketing and customer engagement. Specifically, when we talk about the care reset, we are very early on. So this morning, I don't have metrics to share for you, but what I do have is just engagement in the customer -- customers in the stores and importantly our store associates being very excited about the assortment. You know we're touching general market hair care with brands like Yellow, we're touching our textured or curly coily wavy with expanded product assortment and men's which has been a big request from our store associates. We're doubling down on that business where the business has actually been growing double digits as well. So more to come next quarter as we get that set and can really read it, but very excited about what we're hearing as the buzz in the stores to date. You know, on the fragrance front, you know, it's been exciting to do and launch into this space. As you know, it started because we had with our first Ignited stores tested a bit of fragrance. We moved quickly to 1,000 stores and now to 2,000 stores. We're generally finding it's not necessarily a new customer. It is our existing customer adding to their basket. And that's a nice basket add. These are items that are priced, you know, north of $20 for the most part in the stores. So we love that add-on, it's the cross shop we're looking for. It's giving us extra enthusiasm around doubling down on other categories like nail. We're going to be entering with a test of some new product in skin as well. So really pleased with where we're headed there. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Susan Anderson with Canaccord Genuity. Your line is now open. Susan Anderson: Nice job on the quarter. I guess I wanted to maybe ask about the Sally comp was obviously impressive, especially when you just look at the U.S. and Canada. I guess I was curious, what's the driver in the difference in performance between the other international markets and if you've rolled out the same initiatives over there? Is it just the consumer may be a bit softer over there? And then also maybe if you could just talk about the promotional environment in the quarter and how it was versus your expectations and what you're expecting the rest of the year. Denise Paulonis: Susan, thank you for the comment on the quarter. We are pleased with where we came in. We are seeing great performance with both Sally as a segment and Sally U.S. Canada. As you rightfully mentioned, the segment overall is growing a little bit more slowly than what we're seeing as a total Sally U.S. business. When we think about what's in there, we have our business in Latin America and we also have our business in Europe. And the 2 are a little bit different story. In Europe, we're actually pleased with the underlying performance of the business there, but there are 2 things that we've done over the course of the last year that actually pull down results a bit. First, we made some changes broadly in our full-service distribution. We exited the majority of our full service, which was a very low margin portion of the business, to focus on e-commerce and stores where we are strong. That took some sales out of the business, and that does come through in comp, but a nice strategic repositioning. We've also shifted geographies a bit, and we've leaned more into Ireland and exited some places where we are a bit lower scale. So I would just call this a bit of a transition year of the numbers coming through Europe as we're really repositioning that segment for future growth. And then in this business as well is our business in Mexico and Chile. Mexico, for a number of years has been an incredibly strong performer in the fleet. We've been expanding store count. Over the last year or so, macroeconomic conditions there have definitely softened a bit. So while we're still excited about the business, we are -- it's a bit more cautious right now and a little bit more conservative in how customers are buying in Mexico in particular. So we'll keep watching that and reacting as we can, but pleased with the business overall. So I consider in both cases just a little bit of change underway in our strategy and execution for the most part, so healthy overall. And then on promo environment, you know, you asked about promo environment. What I would say is in both businesses, we are seeing promotional activity on the rise. You know, the great news is that, you know, for us in navigating that, our gross margin remains strong and so our participation in that promo is healthy. But what we see underneath it is there is a customer who is just searching and buying more when the opportunity presents itself to get it on sale. So a little bit more patient for those sales to come and then they'll come in and purchase on promo. We'll keep watching that as well, but seeing it on both sides of the house. Susan Anderson: Okay, great. Thanks for all the details there. Good luck the rest of the year. Denise Paulonis: Thanks. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Olivia Tong with Raymond James. Olivia Tong Cheang: My first question is on BSG, and if you could just kind of break down the challenges there a little bit, you know, how much of this decline do you think is salon channel traffic and, you know, and demand woes that are weighed down by macro pressures versus actions you need to take on your assortment or exclusivity? I know you talked about K18 lapping. But, you know, as you look at the pipeline of things coming over the next 6 to 12 months, if there are things that will help against that lap, -- and then did you see any material difference across stores versus e-commerce? And can you talk about the magnitude of difference in performance between color and care? Denise Paulonis: Sure. So on the BSG front, thanks for the question. Overall, I think the important part to remember here is we are the largest distributor to salons in the U.S. and Canada. We do know every stylist, so we feel like we do have a very good handle on what's going on in the marketplace and our positioning within it. I think we saw real nice strength in color and nails in the quarter, but it was offset by the softness in care. Particularly the last few quarters, we've been running, hair care has been growing about flat, right? This quarter, we saw a little bit of incremental pressure because it was last quarter this year, April of 2025, that we launched K18, which certainly came out as a big bang last year to a lot of success. So that put a little bit more pressure on just the lap of the trends this year. But when we step back and say what's really going on, our stylist consumer sentiment is pretty healthy. So they're still seeing books being steady, color service is strong. Where we do see them particularly choiceful is a bit more with additional spending in hair care and styling tools. That's kind of a double piece of our hair care challenge in lapping a K18 as well. So back to the points under our control and what we're working on. You know, we're going to keep doubling down on the strength in color. We're really pleased with the updated app and the engagement we're seeing from customers. And then in care specifically, focus on value, newness, and value messaging. So we talked about on the call some innovation and expansion of product assortment coming with Virtue Labs in 300 stores, milk_shake expanding. That newness does drive customers into our store, and we'll keep building on that into Q4 and beyond. And then price forward messaging. Our customers are really wanting us to be sharper in how we communicate price to them, to motivate them to get into the store, just that value equation. So that's under our control as well and things that we're working on. But overall, we're pleased with the business and the underlying trends in the business. We've just got a little work to do to get hair care back where we'd like it to be. And then I'm pleased that you were asking about stores and e-comm. I'm really pleased to say that in both businesses we're seeing very nice balanced growth between stores and e-comm. In Sally, e-comm continues to be growing north of 20% in the business, but that's not to say that stores are not growing as well, which is great to see for us, increased foot traffic. We talked about both transaction and ticket being up for the market overall. And in BSG, stores are flat-ish, and the growth is really coming from some more of the online sales, which is supported by the new app. So, I think a really nice win there as well. And then when we talked about the strength in color versus care, color right now in both businesses is quite strong, in Sally particularly strong. We're doubling down on that here in August with our Color Fest activity, which includes activations out with a lot of key universities, so pulling more customers into our fray. And I think in particular, we have seen nice new customer growth from our work in performance marketing and that customer experience, which is picking up on some of our color strengths as well. Care is the place that in both businesses, we're going to continue to work and evolve. And I talked about a lot of those levers already. Olivia Tong Cheang: Great. If I could follow up just on Ignited, you'll be at 80 doors by the end of the year. As you refresh these, how are you thinking about the eventual rollout to more of the fleet? You've added fragrance, you've added skin, you've added a number of new categories. I would imagine they're more disproportionately heavier in the Ignited doors. So, just thinking about the learnings that you've made in Ignited and how that impacts how you think about the rollout to additional doors. Denise Paulonis: Yes, I think first and foremost, our Ignited stores, as you said, you know, the things that we're learning in categories where we can expand in nails and fragrance, we're going to be testing a new skin line here. Also with men's are really great learning tools for us that we have been activating through the rest of the fleet. But when we think about those Ignited stores themselves, as we mentioned before, will be 80 by the end of the year. That's still a small proportion of our overall sales base. But I think the thing that we're liking the most there is we are seeing cross shopping in the stores. So UPT, ATV up as customers are coming in. Traffic is getting back to the healthy state that we would like it to be. We mentioned on the call that comps are outperforming the rest of the fleet, which is a real positive as we look forward to expanding the program. So, it's going to be more to come on our call next November as we kind of share guidance for the next year and our plans for rollout, but we feel really pleased and think that we'll be able to continue to expand the program in '27 and beyond. Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Simeon Gutman with Morgan Stanley. Skylar Tennant: This is Skylar Tennant on for Simeon Gutman. Firstly, you described last quarter the consumer as resilient, but called out some choiceful behavior, incremental pressure in low-income stores. So has the income cohort pressure kind of broadened beyond the low-income store base given ongoing conflict? And are you able to quantify what percentage of the Sally fleet falls into that low-income classification? Denise Paulonis: Yes, first and foremost, I think you said it well. What we said last quarter remains this quarter. The consumer has remained extremely resilient. So when we see absolute purchase levels, we are not seeing those decline, which is fantastic. That choicefulness is very real. The strength in color and that being a staple category rather than discretionary category is quite meaningful. Where things are a little lighter, you really need newness. You need care and you need styling tools, places like that you're going to buy when you need it. In the low-income cohort, I'm not going to break out the count of stores. We do have a low to middle income consumer in general. We have not seen marked change from last quarter. I think last quarter I mentioned it, and I would say it the same right now, is the importance of the reset of our hair care category is that what we are seeing in our care assortment is in core things like shampoo and conditioner, our lower income consumer might be more willing to trade down to mass. And so it's our job to be getting right assortment and newness for them to be excited to shop in our stores and pay slightly more than maybe for that mass market brand and keep them engaged in the category. And we feel like our assortment changes are going to be spot on with helping to do that for our customer base. So overall, thrilled that there is a resilient consumer, but we remain very watchful. Skylar Tennant: Great, thank you. And then as kind of the Fuel for Growth program nears completion, I guess between gross margin and SG&A, which portion is more durable into the coming fiscal year and should we expect margin expansion to depend on improving the top line? Adrianne Lee: Thanks for that question. Appreciate it. I'll just say some overarching thoughts. As our Fuel for Growth program does come to an end, the great thing about our enterprise is we've already built that muscle in-house. As I think about, I feel confident in our ability to continue to find efficiencies, I would say that I think we're generally pleased with our gross margin performance and we think that's a really great place to be in that right ZIP code. Our long-term algorithm does call for, and I think you're acutely aware, leverage in our P&Ls, so we'll continue to look at kind of our SG&A bucket and find efficiencies and productivities just in our kind of day-to-day activities. Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from the line of Sydney Wagner with Jefferies. Sydney Wagner: You noted that promotional activity increased across both businesses and consumers are more so concentrating their purchases around those events. Just curious. So, I mean, has that behavior changed versus 90 days ago? What are you seeing in terms of areas within your assortment where maybe that pressure is most acute? And then for care, you've discussed, it's been under pressure the last few quarters. Beyond the assortment reset, what do you view as the biggest unlock to getting that category back to sustainable growth? Denise Paulonis: Sure, good morning, Sydney. So let me make a few more comments on promotional levels. The world has not changed materially in the last 90 days. So I think we've been talking about it being kind of incrementally more promotional in terms of how the customers are choosing to respond and buy. So no outsized change in trend. It's about a little bit more about us offering more promo days, right? So we might vary the promotions that we do, but having there be something that can appeal to someone to get them to move, to push that buy button on e-comm or come into the stores. It is most pronounced in styling tools and in care would be the 2 that I would call out. Color, nails, generally very resilient categories in terms of how people are purchasing into those. So like I said, I wouldn't call any cause for concern. Our gross margin remains strong. We were actually up 40 basis points in the quarter. So we can navigate it, but I think to the point of what's in our control and how we navigate through here, it's as much of what the promotion is, but it's more so how we're communicating it. And, what we're finding is that consumer has gone through a series of iterations where if you ask this question 2 years ago, they were wanting to buy in bulk when the sale was on and stock up. So they loved the buy 2, get one free or buy 3, get one free type of offer. You know, last year they migrated much more to saying, I don't want more out of pocket. What I really want to do is get a great price on my item. And I love seeing, you know, strong percentage offs that make me move. We've actually watched a customer now gravitate towards tell me what I'm going to pay. So, if you've got a sharp price point, and this is both on the consumer and the pro side, tell me that price point so I know that I'm going to get a great deal without having to think too hard about it, about whether I want to make that choice. So, that's in our control to keep evolving the way we communicate, even though the underlying discounting behavior is not changing consistently on our behalf. And then in care, I think there's 2 different points to that depending upon what business you're in. You know, I think on the Sally side of the business, the assortment changes are an important part in addition to the expansion of men's. So this is a place where we have seen double-digit growth. We think there's more that we can do there, which is really taking us deeper into a new subcategory within care while the assortment will play out as well. And then everything that we can do on our performance marketing front to communicate the messages, to have people know what we've got, things like our Color Fest. While it's focused on color, there's a residual effect that people get to know more about our own brands like ion that carry over into the care category as well. And then on the pro side, innovation matters. We're focused on that. We feel great about our in-stock levels in our stores. And then this is the place where that communication of value probably matters more than anywhere right now and what we'll work on as well. Operator: Thank you. And I'm currently showing no further questions at this time. I'd now like to hand the call back over to Denise Paulonis for closing remarks. Denise Paulonis: Well, thank you, and thank you everyone for joining us this morning. I hope you heard that we're excited about the trajectory of our business. Our associates across the globe are doing a fantastic job serving our customers, so I thank them for the work that they do every day. And I look forward to giving all of you an update as we come to our end of year call in November. Thanks. Operator: This concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Sally Beauty, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Sally Beauty wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $399,832!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,374,595!* That performance is why people listen. 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Sally Beauty (SBH) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

SharkNinja, Inc. SN delivered impressive second-quarter 2026 results, with both the top and bottom lines surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and increasing year over year. This was supported by broad-based demand across its product portfolio, continued international expansion and strong execution. The company reported its 13th consecutive quarter of double-digit sales growth while raising its fiscal 2026 outlook across key financial metrics, reinforcing confidence in its long-term growth strategy. Investors have rewarded the strong execution. Shares of SharkNinja have gained 72.6% over the past three months, significantly outperforming the industry's 19.1% growth. The stock has outpaced the sector's 1.9% increase and the S&P 500's 3.9% rise. SN Stock Past Three-Month Performance Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SharkNinja reported second-quarter net sales of $1.77 billion, up 22.2% year over year, marking its fastest growth rate since the fourth quarter of 2024. The company delivered broad-based growth across categories, geographies and sales channels, reflecting the strength of its diversified business model. Management highlighted that SharkNinja continues to gain market share by consistently solving consumer problems through innovation rather than relying on a handful of viral products.Growth was driven by strength across all four major product categories. Cooking and Beverage Appliances revenues increased 36.5% to $499 million, supported by strong demand for the Ninja Luxe Cafe espresso machine and Ninja Crispi. Food Preparation Appliances revenues rose 13.3% to $458.6 million on continued momentum in blending products. Beauty and Home Environment Appliances revenues surged 65.3% to $285.8 million, fueled by skincare and fan products, while Cleaning Appliances revenues increased 4.1% to $522 million, driven by carpet extractors and cordless vacuums.International markets remained a major growth engine. International net sales increased 36.6%, with particularly strong performance across the United Kingdom, Europe and Latin America, while domestic sales advanced more than 15%.The company delivered healthy earnings growth. Adjusted EBITDA increased 18.6% year over year to $264.9 million, while adjusted net income climbed 29.3% to $178.2 million. Adjusted earnings per share increased 29.9% to $1.26 from 97 cents in the prior-year quarter. Management raised its 2026 outlook following stronger-than-expected operating performance. The company expects net sales growth of 16-17% compared with its previous outlook of 11.5-12.5%. Adjusted earnings per share are projected between $6.45 and $6.55, reflecting a 22.2% to 24.1% increase year over year, up from the prior guidance of $6-$6.10.  Approximately 15 cents of the increase reflects the expected benefit from tariff refunds.Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $1.36 billion and $1.37 billion compared with the previous outlook of $1.29-$1.30 billion. Roughly $30 million of the increase reflects the anticipated benefit from tariff refunds. Despite the stock's impressive rally, SharkNinja continues to trade at an attractive valuation relative to its growth profile. SN currently trades at a trailing price-to-sales ratio of 3.80X, below the industry average of 6.35X, suggesting investors are not paying a premium for its improving growth profile. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SharkNinja's biggest competitive advantage remains the strength of its established core business. Management emphasized that the company's largest franchises, including Cleaning and Blending, continue to expand through diversification and innovation. This strategy allows SharkNinja to build growth on a broad portfolio rather than relying primarily on newly launched or viral products. Management pointed to the Ninja CREAMi as an example of this model, with the product evolving into a global family spanning more than 30 countries.Innovation is helping SharkNinja expand its addressable market. Management highlighted the company's focus on identifying categories with limited innovation and applying its product development expertise to create new opportunities. The Ninja Crispi Microwave and other upcoming launches demonstrate the company's strategy of entering underdeveloped spaces while continuing to strengthen its existing franchises.International expansion provides another significant avenue for long-term growth. SharkNinja has completed its distributor-to-direct-market transitions in Italy and Spain and finished the rollout of its direct-to-consumer platform across major international markets. France and Germany have expanded from a low double-digit number of categories to more than 50, while management estimates that the company remains less than 10% penetrated across EMEA on an overall category basis. This leaves considerable room to introduce established SharkNinja categories into new markets.The company's expanding omnichannel capabilities are further strengthening its international growth strategy. SharkNinja is combining relationships with major retailers such as Amazon and Mercado Libre with its DTC platform and social commerce initiatives. Management highlighted the early success of TikTok Shop in newly launched markets, providing the company with additional ways to create consumer demand and accelerate product launches globally.SharkNinja is simultaneously investing in its growth infrastructure. The company expects 2026 capital expenditures of $190 million to $210 million, primarily for new product launches and technology. SharkNinja is also increasing its focus on AI capabilities, media and retail activation. In addition, the company repurchased 1.01 million shares during the first half of 2026 under its $750 million share repurchase authorization, providing an additional avenue for shareholder returns. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SharkNinja's 2026 earnings implies year-over-year growth of 17.6%, while the estimate for 2027 indicates another 15.6% increase.Analysts have become more optimistic following the company's strong execution. Earnings estimates for 2026 and 2027 have been revised upward by 5 cents and 7 cents, respectively, over the past seven days, reflecting confidence in SharkNinja's growth trajectory. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research SharkNinja's strong second-quarter execution, raised outlook and diversified growth strategy position the company favorably for continued expansion. Its established franchises provide a solid foundation, while innovation, international penetration and broader distribution channels offer additional avenues for growth.The stock's recent gains demonstrate strong investor interest, while its below-industry price-to-sales multiple and upward earnings estimate revisions provide further support to the investment case.With strong fundamentals, multiple long-term growth opportunities and favorable earnings revisions, SharkNinja remains an attractive investment opportunity. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). ACCO Brands Corporation ACCO is a global consumer and business products company that designs, manufactures and markets office, school, technology and workspace products. It currently holds a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACCO Brands’ current financial-year earnings and sales indicates growth of 4.8% and 3%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. ACCO delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 35.7%.Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. SBH is a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies headquartered in Plano, TX. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sally Beauty’s current fiscal-year earnings and sales implies growth of 9% and 0.8%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. SBH delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.4%.Interparfums, Inc. IPAR designs, manufactures, markets and distributes prestige fragrances and beauty products under licensing agreements with leading luxury fashion brands. It has a Zacks Rank of 2 at present.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Interparfums’ current financial-year earnings and sales implies a decline of 7.4% and 0.6%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. IPAR delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.4%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SharkNinja, Inc. (SN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Interparfums, Inc. (IPAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Acco Brands Corporation (ACCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Sally U.S. and Canada delivered robust 3.5% comparable sales growth, driven by balanced increases in both transaction volume and average ticket size. The hair color category remains a primary strategic anchor, with Sally segment color sales up 8% and Sally U.S./Canada up 9%, reflecting its status as a non-discretionary staple. Management attributed softness in the Beauty Systems Group (BSG) segment to a difficult year-over-year comparison against the April 2025 launch of K18 and inconsistent stylist spending on add-on services. The 'Fuel for Growth' program successfully expanded adjusted gross margin by 40 basis points through higher product margins and operational efficiencies. Strategic expansion into fragrance and men's grooming is successfully broadening the total addressable market, with fragrance now available in 2,000 stores as a high-value basket add-on. Digital transformation continues to yield results, with global e-commerce sales increasing 11% and the Sally app seeing higher conversion rates and a 6% increase in average order value. Management is implementing a significant hair care category reset this month, introducing new national brands like Yellow and NatureLab. Tokyo to reignite sales trends. The 'Sally Ignited' store remodel program is on track to reach 80 locations by fiscal year-end, with early data showing traffic and sales growth outperforming the broader fleet. Fiscal 2026 guidance assumes continued momentum in Sally U.S. and Canada and double-digit e-commerce growth, tempered by ongoing softness in the care category. The company plans to open 10 additional mall locations and launch a dedicated Happy Beauty e-commerce site by the end of the fourth quarter. Management expects to achieve approximately $120 million in cumulative run-rate savings from the Fuel for Growth program by the conclusion of the fiscal year. The European business is undergoing a strategic repositioning, including exiting low-margin full-service distribution to focus on higher-margin e-commerce and retail stores. Macroeconomic conditions in Mexico have softened, leading to a more cautious and conservative consumer purchasing environment in that region. Management noted an increase in promotional activity across the industry, with consumers becoming more patient and searching for specific price-point messaging before purchasing. Lower-income consumers are showing a higher willingness to trade down to mass-market hair care brands, prompting management to refine assortment and value messaging. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management reported high excitement from store associates regarding the new assortment, particularly the expanded men's and textured hair products. While too early for specific sell-through metrics, the reset is designed to address double-digit growth in the men's category and fill gaps in general market hair care. The international lag is partly due to a transition year in Europe involving the exit of low-margin distribution channels and geographic shifts toward Ireland. Mexico's performance has been impacted by broader macroeconomic softening, leading to more conservative consumer behavior compared to previous years. Consumers have shifted from 'buy in bulk' offers (e.g., Buy 2 Get 1) to wanting clear, sharp price-point messaging that minimizes the need for mental math. Promotional pressure is most acute in styling tools and hair care, while color and nails remain more resilient to price fluctuations. Management believes the company has built a permanent 'muscle' for finding efficiencies that will persist beyond the formal program's end. Future margin expansion will rely on maintaining current gross margin 'ZIP codes' while seeking further productivity gains within the SG&A bucket.

Make better investment decisions with Simply Wall St's easy, visual tools that give you a competitive edge. Sally Beauty Holdings (SBH) stock was in focus after the company reported fiscal third quarter results that topped earnings expectations, along with a slight trim to full year sales guidance and steady profit targets. See our latest analysis for Sally Beauty Holdings. The earnings beat and guidance tweak have come with a strong shift in sentiment around Sally Beauty Holdings, with a 1 day share price return of 7.75% and a 30 day share price return of 14.07%. Over the past year, total shareholder return of 38.34% contrasts with a weaker 5 year total shareholder return. This suggests recent momentum has been building off a lower base as investors reassess the company’s earnings profile and risk. If this earnings reaction has you looking beyond Sally Beauty Holdings, it may be a good moment to widen your watchlist with 19 top founder-led companies After this sharp re rating on steady earnings and slightly softer sales guidance, the real test is valuation. Does Sally Beauty Holdings still offer a favourable balance of potential upside versus risk from here? The most followed narrative currently points to a fair value of $16.40 for Sally Beauty Holdings, slightly above the last close at $16.13, which keeps the focus firmly on execution and capital returns rather than a big valuation gap. Read the complete narrative. Curious what sits behind that fair value of $16.40 for Sally Beauty Holdings. The narrative leans heavily on steadier earnings growth, firmer margins, and a long runway of share repurchases. The full story connects these moving parts into one valuation roadmap. Result: Fair Value of $16.40 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, there are still clear risks to the Sally Beauty Holdings story, including ongoing pressure on certain categories and competition from larger beauty retailers and digital heavyweights. Find out about the key risks to this Sally Beauty Holdings narrative. This mix of renewed optimism and clear risk around Sally Beauty Holdings will land differently for every investor. It makes sense to review the evidence and move quickly to shape your own view using the 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign If Sally Beauty Holdings has sharpened your focus, do not stop here. Broader research gives you more options and a better shot at building resilience into your portfolio. Spot potential bargains early by scanning screener containing 18 high quality undiscovered gems that combine solid fundamentals with less crowded attention. Strengthen your core holdings by using the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (46 results) to look for companies with robust financial footing. Dial down portfolio stress by reviewing 82 resilient stocks with low risk scores that may offer a calmer ride without abandoning growth potential. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include SBH. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. SBH delivered third-quarter fiscal 2026 results, wherein earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues fell slightly short. The bottom line improved year over year, while sales increased marginally from the prior-year quarter. Management highlighted continued momentum in its strategic initiatives, including digital investments, product innovation, customer engagement and store refresh programs. While Beauty Systems Group remained under pressure due to softness in the Care category, management pointed to encouraging trends in color products and ongoing efforts to strengthen the business.Management also noted that adjusted operating earnings and adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at the high end of the company's guidance range, supported by healthy gross margins and disciplined SG&A management.The company narrowed its fiscal 2026 guidance within its previously announced ranges, while raising the low end of its adjusted earnings per share outlook. Investors responded favorably to the earnings beat, margin expansion and strong cash flow generation, sending SBH shares 7.8% higher in the last trading session. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. Quote Adjusted earnings of 55 cents per share beat the consensus estimate of 53 cents by 3.8% and increased 7.8% from 51 cents in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share rose 25% year over year to 55 cents.Net sales of $935.5 million rose 0.2% year over year but missed the consensus mark of $936 million by 0.1%. Sales included a 50-basis-point favorable impact from foreign currency translation despite operating 39 fewer stores. Comparable sales remained flat during the quarter. Color remained resilient across both segments, while weakness in the Care category weighed on overall performance.Global e-commerce sales increased 11% year over year to $110 million, representing 12% of quarterly net sales. The business delivered four consecutive quarters of double-digit online growth, supported by updated apps, marketplaces and buy-online-pick-up-in-store activity. In the Sally Beauty Supply segment, net sales increased 2.2% year over year to $538.6 million, including a 90-basis-point foreign currency benefit. This was above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $534 million. Comparable sales rose 1.6%, which was higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 1% growth. This increase was driven by 0.6% transaction growth and a 1% increase in average ticket. Sally U.S. and Canada delivered 3.5% comparable sales growth.Color sales increased 8% across the segment and 9% in Sally U.S. and Canada, while Care declined 6%. E-commerce sales climbed 20% to $52 million, representing 10% of segment sales. U.S. and Canada online sales advanced 28%. Gross margin expanded 60 basis points to 61.5%, supported by higher product margins from the Fuel for Growth program, while segment operating margin improved 80 basis points to 16.6%.Beauty Systems Group (“BSG”) net sales declined 2.4% to $396.9 million, reflecting nine fewer stores. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for segment sales is pegged at $402 million. Comparable sales fell 2.1%, as transactions decreased 3.2%, partly offset by a 1.1% rise in average ticket.BSG’s Color category grew 1%, while Care declined 5%. The company faced a difficult comparison with the prior-year K18 launch, while stylists remained selective about hair care and styling-tool purchases. BSG e-commerce sales increased 4% to $58 million, representing 15% of segment revenues. Gross margin expanded 70 basis points to 40.1%, supported by higher product margins from the Fuel for Growth program, while segment operating margin contracted 20 basis points to 12.3%. The updated Sally app delivered order and sales growth that outpaced sessions, while average order value increased 6%. Licensed Colorist On Demand consultations exceeded 5,200 per week, and the number of new customers using the service increased 28%. These customers also purchased more frequently than nonusers.The company completed 33 Sally Ignited store refreshes through July and plans 17 more in the fourth quarter, reaching 80 locations by fiscal year-end. Management said refreshed stores continued to outperform the fleet, with gains in traffic, dwell time, units per transaction and average transaction value.Fragrance and nails remained standout categories. Fragrance, now available in 2,000 stores, primarily attracted incremental spending from existing customers. The hair-care reset includes Yellow and NatureLab. Tokyo, along with expanded offerings from Design Essentials, The Doux and Camille Rose. SBH’s adjusted gross margin expanded 40 basis points year over year to 52.4% from 52% in the prior-year period, reflecting improved product margins driven by the company's Fuel for Growth program. Gross margin expanded 90 basis points to 52.4%.On the cost side, adjusted selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses totaled $404 million, increasing $5 million from the prior-year period. Adjusted SG&A expenses remained flat at 43.2% of net sales. Higher labor and rent expenses were partially offset by approximately $2 million of Fuel for Growth benefits.SBH generated adjusted operating earnings of $87 million, compared with $86.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating margin improved 10 basis points to 9.3% from 9.2% in the prior-year period. Operating earnings increased 10.5% to $86.4 million, while operating margin expanded 80 basis points to 9.2%.Adjusted EBITDA increased 1.8% year over year to $117.4 million from $115.3 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 10 basis points to 12.5% from 12.4% in the year-ago quarter. The company ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $173.1 million and no outstanding borrowings under its asset-based revolving credit facility. Inventory declined 1% year over year to $996 million. During the third quarter of fiscal 2026, operating cash flow totaled $81 million, while free cash flow was $62 million.Capital allocation remained focused on strengthening the balance sheet and returning cash to shareholders. During the quarter, SBH repaid $20 million of term loan debt and repurchased 1.9 million shares for $25 million, ending the period with a net debt leverage ratio of 1.4x. Management narrowed its fiscal 2026 net sales outlook to $3.725-$3.733 billion from $3.725-$3.750 billion. The outlook assumes an approximately 30-basis-point favorable impact from foreign currency rates. Comparable sales are expected to rise approximately 0.5%, compared with the prior forecast of flat to 1% growth.The company projects adjusted operating earnings in the range of $329-$335 million, while adjusted earnings per share are expected to be $2.04-$2.08, compared with the earlier guidance of $2.02-$2.10. Capital expenditures remain forecast at approximately $100 million, and free cash flow is expected to be roughly $200 million. The company plans to deploy about 50% of free cash flow toward share repurchases. Fuel for Growth is still expected to generate approximately $45 million of benefits in fiscal 2026, with cumulative run-rate savings reaching about $120 million by fiscal year-end. The company reiterated that it expects Happy Beauty's e-commerce site to launch by the end of the fourth quarter. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have risen 17.4% over the past three months against the industry’s 4.2% decline. Five Below, Inc. FIVE operates as a specialty value retailer in the United States. At present, Five Below sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FIVE’s current fiscal-year sales and earnings implies growth of 15.1% and 36.1%, respectively, from the year-ago figures. FIVE delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 70.1%, on average.Tilly's, Inc. TLYS is a specialty retailer in the action sports industry selling clothing, shoes and accessories. The company also flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tilly's current fiscal-year sales indicates growth of 4.9% from the year-ago actuals. TLYS delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 155.3%. Designer Brands Inc. DBI designs, produces and retails footwear and accessories. It offers shoes, boots, sandals, sneakers, socks, handbags and accessories. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Designer Brands’ current fiscal-year earnings and sales suggests growth of 137.5% and 0.5%, respectively, from the year-ago actuals. DBI delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 112.8%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Five Below, Inc. (FIVE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tilly's, Inc. (TLYS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

For the quarter ended June 2026, Sally Beauty (SBH) reported revenue of $935.49 million, up 0.2% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $0.55, compared to $0.51 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of -0.07% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $936.19 million. With the consensus EPS estimate being $0.53, the EPS surprise was +3.77%. While investors scrutinize revenue and earnings changes year-over-year and how they compare with Wall Street expectations to determine their next move, some key metrics always offer a more accurate picture of a company's financial health. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Sally Beauty performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: Comparable sales growth - Sally Beauty Supply: 1.6% compared to the 1% average estimate based on two analysts. Comparable sales growth - Beauty Systems Group: -2.1% versus the two-analyst average estimate of -0.9%. Number of stores at end-of-period - Beauty Systems Group: 1,320 versus 1,320 estimated by two analysts on average. Number of stores at end-of-period - Total: 4,386 compared to the 4,402 average estimate based on two analysts. Number of stores at end-of-period - Sally Beauty Supply: 3,066 versus the two-analyst average estimate of 3,082. Comparable sales growth - Consolidated: 0.2% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 0.2%. Net Sales- Sally Beauty Supply: $538.57 million versus $534.19 million estimated by two analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +2.2% change. Net Sales- Beauty Systems Group: $396.92 million compared to the $402 million average estimate based on two analysts. The reported number represents a change of -2.4% year over year. View all Key Company Metrics for Sally Beauty here>>> Shares of Sally Beauty have returned +5.9% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.2% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (SBH) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research