DKS vs ULTA vs BNED Stock Comparison

Dick'S Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty and Barnes & Noble Education Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DKS Dick'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
$141.32 +3.6% 1M -38.4% 1Y
Market cap
$12.34B
P/E
14.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.15B
Div. yield
0.04%
Specialty Retail Consumer Discretionary
3 wins
ULTA Ulta Beauty, Inc.
$626.88 +15.0% 1M +19.9% 1Y
Market cap
$26.69B
P/E
22.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Retail Consumer Discretionary
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Ulta Beauty leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ulta Beauty 7, Dick'S Sporting Goods 3, Barnes & Noble Education 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDKSULTABNEDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $12.34B $26.69B $441.66M ULTA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.7x 22.1x 19.9x DKS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 12.9x 22.4x 14.8x DKS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +53.5% +11.2% +5.0% DKS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% 9.3% 1.3% ULTA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 11.1% 42.9% 8.9% ULTA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.1x 1.5x ULTA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -38.4% +19.9% +44.2% BNED
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.8%/yr +11.1%/yr -58.1%/yr ULTA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.0% 35.6% 63.1% ULTA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 66/100 59/100 ULTA

Percentile Scorecard

DKSULTABNED

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisDKSULTABNED
Valuation 61 #41 of 104 21 #82 of 104 78 #24 of 104
Growth 48 #52 of 99 58 #42 of 99 89 #12 of 99
Profitability 57 #43 of 98 97 #4 of 98 55 #45 of 98
Financial Health 52 #54 of 112 64 #41 of 112 50 #57 of 112
Shareholder Returns 58 #31 of 72 89 #9 of 72 23 #56 of 72
Overall 55 66 59
  • DKS ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • ULTA ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BNED ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodDKSULTABNEDSPY
1 month +3.6%+15.0%+20.1% -0.2%
3 months -33.2%+25.0%+4.5% +3.9%
6 months -37.6%+16.5%+35.1% +8.2%
Year to date -28.6%+3.6%+48.0% +12.9%
1 year -38.4%+19.9%+44.2% +12.3%
3 years +39.9%+65.0%-86.0% +87.4%
3 years, per year +11.8%+18.2%-48.1% +23.3%
5 years +14.5%+69.2%-98.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.8%+11.1%-58.1% +10.9%
10 years +158.1%+161.4%-98.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.9%+10.1%-34.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureDKSULTABNEDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.0%35.6%63.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.3%36.0%53.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.800.511.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.740.560.70 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.6%-44.6%-99.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.9%-11.3%-2.4% -1.2%
52-week high $239.17$706.82$13.94 $779.14
52-week low $121.11$450.75$6.12 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleDKSULTABNED
P/E now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 16.7x 22.3xmedian 16.7x 21.1xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.5x 2.1xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.6xmedian 9.0x 13.9xmedian 9.0x 7.5xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 52.4xmedian 16.5x 23.3xmedian 16.5x 9.7xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.7x 10.1xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.06median 0.72 6.31median 0.72 0.65median 0.72

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsDKSULTABNED
Revenue $21.15B $12.96B $1.72B
Gross profit $6.78B $5.09B $367.84M
Operating income $1.17B $1.61B $42.45M
Net income $838.83M $1.21B $22.23M
Free cash flow $239.41M $1.15B $48.80M
EPS (diluted) $9.31 $28.10 $0.64
Cash & equivalents $913.74M $158.45M $7.81M
Total debt $1.91B $339.58M $123.50M
Shares (diluted) 90.13M 43.06M 34.53M
Enterprise value $8.25B $25.56B $403.58M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricDKSULTABNED
P/E 15.0x 22.3x 21.1x
P/FCF 52.4x 23.3x 9.7x
P/Operating cash flow 7.9x 17.1x 7.3x
P/S 0.6x 2.1x 0.3x
P/B 2.2x 10.1x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 11.0x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 7.6x 13.9x 7.5x
EV/EBIT 11.6x 16.7x 13.8x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 2.1x 0.3x
EV/FCF 56.6x 23.5x 12.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.5x 17.2x 9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.06 6.31 0.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDKSULTABNED
Revenue growth (1Y) 53.5% 11.2% 5.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 6.5% 3.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 36.3% 12.1% 5.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.2% 6.4% 2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -21.6% 2.1% 34.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -2.8% -0.6% 38.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.5% 0.7% 12.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -6.1% -1.4% 30.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.7% 5.5% 10.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -7.3% 3.5% 32.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.1% 20.9% 781.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 4.6% 84.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -48.5% 20.7% 320.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.3% 5.7% 49.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDKSULTABNED
Gross margin 32.1% 39.3% 21.4%
EBITDA margin 8.4% 14.9% 4.5%
Operating margin 5.5% 12.5% 2.5%
Pretax margin 5.5% 12.4% 1.6%
Net margin 4.0% 9.3% 1.3%
FCF margin 1.1% 8.9% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.5% 12.1% 3.8%
Return on equity 14.8% 46.6% 7.8%
Return on assets 4.7% 17.6% 2.8%
Return on invested capital 11.1% 42.9% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 8.9% 34.7% 9.7%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.9x 2.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.3x 2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDKSULTABNED
Debt / assets 10.4% 4.9% 14.6%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.1x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 0.1x 1.5x
Debt / FCF 8.0x 0.3x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 68.6% 62.0% 67.1%
Equity / assets 31.4% 38.0% 32.9%
Interest coverage 16.4x – –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.3x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.1x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.68 6.80 1.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDKSULTABNED
Dividend yield 3.5% – 1.2%
Net buyback yield 1.4% 4.5% –
Shareholder yield 4.9% 4.5% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) 52.8% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 184.9% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 18.1% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 18.0% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusDKSULTABNED
Forward P/E 12.9xFY2026 22.4xFY2026 14.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.93FY2026 $27.98FY2026 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -17.2%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026 +41.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.8% +20.3% +1,038.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $21.45BFY2026 $13.00BFY2026 $1.85BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.5%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 +8.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.8% +13.0% +6.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDKSULTABNED
Held by institutions 77.2% 97.9% 77.2%
Institutions holding 788 1,016 111
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.5% +8.3%
Institutions buying 416 434 63
Institutions selling 249 433 29
Buyers to sellers 1.67 1.00 2.17

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

DKSULTABNED
DKS 1.00 0.26 0.10
ULTA 0.26 1.00 0.17
BNED 0.10 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DKS, ULTA and BNED?

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) $12.34B, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) $26.69B, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) $441.66M.

Which stock is cheaper, DKS, ULTA and BNED?

Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 14.7x, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 22.1x, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 19.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) is cheapest (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 12.9x, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 22.4x, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 14.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) +53.5%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +11.2%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) has the highest net margin (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 4.0%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 9.3%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.3%). On return on invested capital, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) leads (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 11.1%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 42.9%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) returned the most: Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) -38.4%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +19.9%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +44.2%. Over five years, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) compounded fastest (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) +2.8%/yr, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +11.1%/yr, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) -58.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 0.04%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 0.00%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 0.00%. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) has been the steadiest (Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 52.0%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 35.6%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 63.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DKS, ULTA and BNED?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.