(Bloomberg) -- Ulta Beauty Inc. increased its outlook for the fourth quarter and announced that Chief Operating Officer Kecia Steelman will succeed Dave Kimbell as chief executive officer.
Steelman, 53, will take over the position and join Ulta’s board starting Monday, the company said in a statement. She said the company is positioned to “capture greater market share in beauty and wellness and deliver long-term profitable growth.”
Kimbell, 58, is retiring and will stay on as an adviser through June 28, according to Ulta. Since he assumed the top role in June 2021, Ulta shares have gained 28%, trailing the S&P 500’s 50% advance over the same period.
Steelman has been chief operating officer since 2023 and has held different roles at Ulta since 2014. She is the 46th female CEO in the S&P 500, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
She faces an increasingly competitive cosmetics market in the US. Ulta rode a surge in beauty sales following the pandemic, but since then companies including Target Corp., Walmart Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have made inroads in the segment.
At the same time, sales have slowed as historically-high inflation has made some consumers more cautious. LVMH-owned Sephora, meanwhile, has grown in popularity with the younger shoppers that used to shop primarily at Ulta.
Ulta also boosted its outlook for the current quarter, citing stronger-than-expected holiday sales. It now sees comparable sales increasing modestly and operating margin above the high-end of the company’s previous forecast of 11.6% to 12.4%.
In December, Ulta told analysts it expected comparable sales in the current quarter to decline by a low-single digit percentage versus a year earlier.
The company said it will report fourth-quarter results on March 13.
In a separate filing, Ulta said Steelman’s annual base salary will increase 21% to $1.35 million. Her annual cash incentive target will increase to 180% of her base salary, from 115%.
Ulta shares rose 2% at 5 p.m. in extended New York trading. The stock declined 11% in 2024.
--With assistance from Jeff Green.
(Updates with ages of executives, context and increased guidance.)
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