The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Cyclical
Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA)
Beauty retailer, one pattern. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-26. Ranked 2 of the 39 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing counts 65,000 U.S. associates and 1,820 abroad in one beauty retail business, so one retail pattern carries the 66,820 (c).
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 29% now, 34% at the end of 2027, 35% at the end of 2028, 36% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 36% desk work, 22% people work and 43% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 64% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 26% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
66,820 employees as of 2026-01-31 (sum of stated parts). The filing counts approximately 65,000 associates in the U.S., 1,800 in the U.K. and Ireland and 20 in Uruguay.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, the Company employed approximately 65,000 associates in the U.S., 1,800 in the U.K. and Ireland, and 20 in Uruguay.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Health and Personal Care Retailers | 100% | By description (c): beauty stores with salon services, the cosmetics retail that industry covers; the distribution centers and corporate offices the filing names stay inside the retail pattern under rule 6, since it counts none of them. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 66,820 associates: 65,000 in the U.S., 1,800 in the U.K. and Ireland, 20 in Uruguay, up from 58,000; health coverage for those working more than 30 hours a week.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Health and Personal Care Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- CVS Health (CVS, 300,000 employees)31% now, 44% by 2028
- Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI, 60,735 employees)28% now, 34% by 2028
- The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL, 55,000 employees)26% now, 35% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
11 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 11 sentences, as risk: the development, use or misuse of AI, the need to adopt AI and agentic commerce in time, and the consequences of deploying AI incorrectly.
- “The development and use or misuse of AI or the failure to use AI present risks and challenges that may negatively affect our business.”
- “Failure to adapt to a rapidly changing technological environment or failure to adopt emerging technologies, including advances relating to AI and agentic commerce, in a timely manner could negatively affect our business.”
- “In addition, if we adopt new technologies such as AI and fail to deploy them effectively or if we, our associates, or third parties acting at our direction use them incorrectly, unethically, or illegally, it could have a negative impact on our business, reputation, and financial results.”
- “The development of AI technologies is complex, and there are technical and other challenges associated with achieving the desired level of accuracy, efficiency, and reliability.”
- “The algorithms and models utilized in generative AI systems may have limitations, including biases, errors, or the inability to handle certain data types or scenarios.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-31 | 65,000 | 2026-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2025-02-01 | 58,000 | 2025-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 56,000 | 2024-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 53,000 | 2023-03-24 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 40,500 | 2022-03-25 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 37,000 | 2021-03-26 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 18,000 | 2020-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 16,000 | 2019-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 13,700 | 2018-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 11,600 | 2017-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 9,700 | 2016-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 8,100 | 2015-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 6,900 | 2014-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 5,600 | 2013-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-28 | 4,500 | 2012-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-29 | 4,000 | 2011-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 3,500 | 2010-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 3,900 | 2009-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 4,000 | 2008-04-16 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The filing counts people by country, not by workplace; distribution centers and corporate staff stay inside the retail pattern (rule 6).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001104659-26-035243, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 29% now and 35% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Ulta Beauty, Inc. employ?
- 66,820 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states as the sum of the parts it gives. About 97% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 1 industry staffing pattern, the largest Health and Personal Care Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 36% desk work, 22% people work and 43% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 11 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.