NIO
NIO Inc.
NIO offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
ULTA has the edge over NIO overall, supported by lower modeled downside.
NIO Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Unavailable |
NIO's revenue is currently strong, and its profitability and cash flow are stable. There isn't enough data to rate its balance sheet.
ULTA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
ULTA's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
NIO PE Valuation
NIO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
ULTA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $448 | -31% |
| Fair | 20x | $561 | -14% |
| Forward | 21x | $651 | — |
| Current | 24x | $651 | — |
| Expensive | 29x | $809 | +24% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
ULTA's PE is in its expensive range at 24x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 21x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
NIO Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Losses shrinking | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect NIO's losses to shrink, with revenue growing.
ULTA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for ULTA, with profitability improving.
NIO Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$0.29 | +$1.45 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.60 | +$1.16 |
| Q4 2025 | -$1.06 | +$0.60 |
| Q3 2025 | -$1.59 | +$0.02 |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.74 | -$0.10 |
| Q1 2025 | -$1.76 | +$0.06 |
| Q4 2024 | -$1.66 | +$0.21 |
| Q3 2024 | -$1.61 | +$0.32 |
NIO is still losing money, but far less than before: $0.29 per share over the past year, against $1.93 at its worst in late 2023.
ULTA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $31.27 | +14% |
| Q3 2026 | $27.45 | +5.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $26.68 | +4.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $25.64 | +1.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $26.05 | +4.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $26.05 | +4.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.57 | -0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $25.34 | -2.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $24.97 | +1.3% |
ULTA has the edge over NIO on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
NIO Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.8B | +69% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8B | +112% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.2B | +76% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.3B | +17% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.9B | +9% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.8B | +21% |
| Q4 2024 | $3B | +15% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.8B | -2.1% |
NIO has the edge over ULTA on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -2.1% | +24 points |
| Q1 2026 | -1.2% | +52 points |
| Q4 2025 | 2.3% | +33 points |
| Q3 2025 | -16% | +12 points |
| Q2 2025 | -26% | +4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -53% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | -31% | +8.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | -28% | -2.6 points |
NIO's operating margin was −2.1% last quarter, up 24 points from the same quarter a year ago.
ULTA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3B | +8.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.2B | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.9B | +12% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.9B | +13% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.8B | +9.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8B | +4.5% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.5B | -1.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.5B | +1.7% |
ULTA's revenue has grown year over year for six quarters in a row: $3B last quarter, up 8.9% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | +0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 14% | +0.1 points |
| Q1 2026 | 12% | -2.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 11% | -1.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 12% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 15% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | -0.6 points |
ULTA has the edge over NIO on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
NIO Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $0 | +$2.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $0 | $0 |
| Q4 2025 | $0 | +$391.3M |
| Q3 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.1B | +$73.9M |
| Q1 2025 | $0 | $0 |
| Q4 2024 | -$391.3M | -386% |
| Q2 2024 | -$2.2B | +$337.9M |
NIO's free cash flow was $0 over the past year, against −$2.5B the year before.
ULTA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $38.4M | +96% |
| Q2 2026 | $203.6M | +44% |
| Q1 2026 | $989M | +2.7% |
| Q4 2025 | -$81.6M | +$89.4M |
| Q3 2025 | $19.6M | -81% |
| Q2 2025 | $141M | +106% |
| Q1 2025 | $962.6M | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | -$171.1M | +$6M |
ULTA has the edge over NIO on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
NIO Net Leverage
NIO's operating earnings (EBITDA) were negative over the past year, so its debt can't be measured against them.
ULTA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.0x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.4x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | 0.0x | Very low |
ULTA's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
NIO Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 30.7 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 6.9 | Oversold |
NIO's weekly RSI is 31 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 7 (oversold).
ULTA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 86.9 | Overbought |
ULTA's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 87 (overbought).
NIO PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
NIO has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
ULTA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | ULTA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 24x | 18x | 32% above |
| PE % | 72 | 47 | 25 pts above |
ULTA is trading at 24x earnings, a 32% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x.
NIO Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $3.36 | 9.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $4.01 | 24% below |
| 50 week MA | $4.81 | 37% below |
| 100 week MA | $4.85 | 37% below |
| 200 week MA | $6.03 | 49% below |
NIO is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 49% below its 200-week average.
ULTA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $601.6 | 8.2% above |
| 20 week MA | $548.9 | 19% above |
| 50 week MA | $565.1 | 15% above |
| 100 week MA | $508.9 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $475.4 | 37% above |
ULTA has the edge over NIO on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NIO Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $2.42 | $45.8 | +1791% |
| 2021 | $45.8 | $30.5 | -33% |
| 2022 | $30.5 | $11.0 | -64% |
| 2023 | $11.0 | $9.07 | -17% |
| 2024 | $9.07 | $4.48 | -51% |
| 2025 | $4.48 | $5.10 | +14% |
| 2026 YTD | $5.10 | $3.05 | -40% |
NIO's yearly returns have swung widely, from +1791% in 2020 to −64% in 2022. It's down 40% so far in 2026.
ULTA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $253.2 | $264.6 | +4.5% |
| 2021 | $264.6 | $392.4 | +48% |
| 2022 | $392.4 | $456.4 | +16% |
| 2023 | $456.4 | $490.0 | +7.4% |
| 2024 | $490.0 | $442.2 | -9.8% |
| 2025 | $442.2 | $607.5 | +37% |
| 2026 YTD | $607.5 | $651.0 | +7.2% |
ULTA has the edge over NIO on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.