Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (Nasdaq: ULTA) reported earnings on Mar. 8. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 28 (Q4), Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew significantly and GAAP earnings per share improved significantly.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance recorded revenue of $582.5 million. The seven analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ predicted revenue of $578.5 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 23% higher than the prior-year quarter's $473.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.73. The nine earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.67 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.73 for Q4 were 49% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.49 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 34.1%, 100 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 12.6%, 230 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 7.9%, 150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $459.2 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.46.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $2.11 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.32.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a three-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 211 members out of 253 rating the stock outperform, and 42 members rating it underperform. Among 78 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 68 give Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance a green thumbs-up, and 10 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance is outperform, with an average price target of $79.29.

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