LII vs ULTA vs AOS Stock Comparison

Lennox International, Ulta Beauty and Smith A O Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ULTA Ulta Beauty, Inc.
$648.28 +18.3% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$27.39B
P/E
22.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.96B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Retail Consumer Discretionary
7 wins
AOS Smith A O Corp
$63.51 +9.4% 1M -3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$8.54B
P/E
17.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.80B
Div. yield
0.02%
HVAC Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Ulta Beauty leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Ulta Beauty 7, Lennox International 3, Smith A O 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLIIULTAAOSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.79B $27.39B $8.54B ULTA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.7x 22.6x 17.3x LII
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.4x 23.2x 17.6x LII
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.9% +11.2% -0.7% ULTA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.8% 9.3% 13.0% LII
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 27.6% 42.9% 20.8% ULTA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.1x 0.6x ULTA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.02% AOS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -28.6% +28.1% -3.2% ULTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.1%/yr +12.0%/yr -2.8%/yr ULTA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 35.8% 27.6% AOS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 66/100 60/100 ULTA

Percentile Scorecard

LIIULTAAOS

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

AxisLIIULTAAOS
Valuation 61 #22 of 55 18 #85 of 104 67 #19 of 55
Growth 56 #23 of 51 57 #43 of 98 32 #35 of 51
Profitability 100 #1 of 49 98 #3 of 97 90 #6 of 49
Financial Health 28 #40 of 55 66 #38 of 110 70 #17 of 55
Shareholder Returns 72 #12 of 40 90 #8 of 70 41 #24 of 40
Overall 63 66 60
  • LII ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products
  • ULTA ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • AOS ranked among 59 companies in Construction Products

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLIIULTAAOSSPY
1 month -3.3%+18.3%+9.4% +0.7%
3 months -16.6%+25.5%+6.2% +3.7%
6 months -34.9%+20.6%+2.7% +7.1%
Year to date -28.3%+7.2%-5.0% +12.8%
1 year -28.6%+28.1%-3.2% +11.9%
3 years -4.7%+70.9%-8.6% +85.2%
3 years, per year -1.6%+19.6%-3.0% +22.8%
5 years +16.3%+76.5%-13.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.1%+12.0%-2.8% +10.9%
10 years +137.8%+167.5%+41.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +9.0%+10.3%+3.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLIIULTAAOSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%35.8%27.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.6%36.0%26.3% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.290.500.70 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.670.78-0.11 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.0%-44.6%-43.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.2%-8.3%-21.1% -1.2%
52-week high $572.95$706.82$80.47 $779.14
52-week low $332.41$450.75$55.34 $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.

MultipleLIIULTAAOS
P/E now vs peer median 16.0xmedian 20.3x 23.0xmedian 17.0x 17.4xmedian 20.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.6x 2.1xmedian 0.5x 2.2xmedian 1.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 12.6x 14.4xmedian 9.2x 11.8xmedian 12.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 16.9x 24.1xmedian 15.6x 15.2xmedian 16.9x
P/B now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 3.0x 10.5xmedian 1.7x 4.7xmedian 3.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.24median 1.13 6.53median 0.77 0.77median 1.13

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 monthsLIIULTAAOS
Revenue $5.45B $12.96B $3.80B
Gross profit $1.78B $5.09B $1.47B
Operating income $1.03B $1.61B $668.30M
Net income $749.90M $1.21B $494.60M
Free cash flow $835.70M $1.15B $561.70M
EPS (diluted) $21.74 $28.10 $3.63
Cash & equivalents $43.30M $158.45M $234.50M
Total debt $1.62B $339.58M $673.10M
Shares (diluted) 34.50M 43.06M 136.10M
Enterprise value $11.61B $26.25B $7.73B

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
MetricLIIULTAAOS
P/E 16.0x 23.0x 17.4x
P/FCF 14.3x 24.1x 15.2x
P/Operating cash flow 12.0x 17.7x 13.9x
P/S 2.2x 2.1x 2.2x
P/B 9.0x 10.5x 4.7x
P/Tangible book 12.1x 11.4x 6.9x
EV/EBITDA 11.7x 14.4x 11.8x
EV/EBIT 13.1x 17.3x 13.4x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 2.2x 2.4x
EV/FCF 16.1x 24.3x 16.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 13.6x 17.8x 14.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.24 6.53 0.77

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLIIULTAAOS
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.9% 11.2% -0.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 6.5% 0.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -1.6% 12.1% -0.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 6.4% 0.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -6.4% 2.1% -7.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 11.7% -0.6% -3.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -13.3% 0.7% -6.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 11.6% -1.4% 18.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -11.6% 5.5% -3.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 3.5% 22.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 44.6% 20.9% -6.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.7% 4.6% -0.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 56.4% 20.7% -1.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.5% 5.7% 0.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLIIULTAAOS
Gross margin 32.6% 39.3% 38.6%
EBITDA margin 21.2% 14.9% 20.1%
Operating margin 18.8% 12.5% 17.6%
Pretax margin 17.6% 12.4% 16.8%
Net margin 13.8% 9.3% 13.0%
FCF margin 15.3% 8.9% 14.8%
Operating cash flow margin 18.2% 12.1% 16.1%
Return on equity 57.4% 46.6% 27.0%
Return on assets 16.2% 17.6% 13.6%
Return on invested capital 27.6% 42.9% 20.8%
Return on capital employed 36.9% 34.7% 24.0%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.9x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLIIULTAAOS
Debt / assets 34.6% 4.9% 18.4%
Debt / equity 1.2x 0.1x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.4x 0.1x 0.6x
Debt / FCF 1.9x 0.3x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 71.9% 62.0% 50.1%
Equity / assets 28.1% 38.0% 49.9%
Interest coverage 16.2x – 26.4x
Current ratio 1.2x 1.3x 1.6x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.2x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.70 6.93 6.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLIIULTAAOS
Dividend yield 1.5% – 2.3%
Net buyback yield 3.7% 4.3% 3.8%
Shareholder yield 5.3% 4.3% 6.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 24.4% – 40.3%
Payout ratio (FCF) 21.9% – 35.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.7% – 2.4%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 6.1% – 3.1%

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.

ConsensusLIIULTAAOS
Forward P/E 15.4xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 17.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $22.65FY2026 $27.98FY2026 $3.60FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.2%FY2026 +9.1%FY2026 -6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.9% +20.3% +15.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.75BFY2026 $13.00BFY2026 $3.73BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026 -2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.7% +13.0% +3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLIIULTAAOS
Held by institutions 77.3% 97.9% 91.9%
Institutions holding 656 1,017 615
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.8% +0.5% +7.1%
Institutions buying 316 434 316
Institutions selling 236 434 226
Buyers to sellers 1.34 1.00 1.40

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.

LIIULTAAOS
LII 1.00 0.18 0.61
ULTA 0.18 1.00 0.34
AOS 0.61 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LII, ULTA and AOS?

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lennox International (LII) $11.79B, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) $27.39B, Smith A O (AOS) $8.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, LII, ULTA and AOS?

Lennox International (LII) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lennox International (LII) 15.7x, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 22.6x, Smith A O (AOS) 17.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lennox International (LII) is cheapest (Lennox International (LII) 15.4x, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 23.2x, Smith A O (AOS) 17.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lennox International (LII) +1.9%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +11.2%, Smith A O (AOS) -0.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lennox International (LII) has the highest net margin (Lennox International (LII) 13.8%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 9.3%, Smith A O (AOS) 13.0%). On return on invested capital, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) leads (Lennox International (LII) 27.6%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 42.9%, Smith A O (AOS) 20.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Ulta Beauty (ULTA) returned the most: Lennox International (LII) -28.6%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +28.1%, Smith A O (AOS) -3.2%. Over five years, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) compounded fastest (Lennox International (LII) +3.1%/yr, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) +12.0%/yr, Smith A O (AOS) -2.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Smith A O (AOS) has the highest dividend yield: Lennox International (LII) 0.02%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 0.00%, Smith A O (AOS) 0.02%. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Smith A O (AOS) has been the steadiest (Lennox International (LII) 42.8%, Ulta Beauty (ULTA) 35.8%, Smith A O (AOS) 27.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LII, ULTA and AOS?

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.