VOL. XCIV, NO. 247

★ WIDE MOAT STOCKS COMPARISON ★

NO ADVICE

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Stock Comparison

Booking Holdings Inc. vs Ulta Beauty, Inc.

Compare moat strength, market structure, and segment coverage to understand how each company defends its edge.

Booking Holdings Inc.

BKNG · NASDAQ Global Select Market

Market cap (USD)$177B
Gross margin (TTM)100%
Operating margin (TTM)32.7%
Net margin (TTM)19.4%
SectorConsumer
IndustryTravel Services
CountryUS
Data as of2025-12-25
Moat score
77/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Booking Holdings Inc.'s moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View BKNG analysis

Ulta Beauty, Inc.

ULTA · NASDAQ

Market cap (USD)$29.9B
Gross margin (TTM)39.2%
Operating margin (TTM)13.2%
Net margin (TTM)9.9%
SectorConsumer
IndustrySpecialty Retail
CountryUS
Data as of2026-01-06
Moat score
58/ 100

Weighted average of segment moat scores, combining moat strength, durability, confidence, market structure, pricing power, and market share.

Full stock profile

Dive deeper into Ulta Beauty, Inc.'s moat claims, evidence, and risks.

View ULTA analysis

Comparison highlights

  • Moat score gap: Booking Holdings Inc. leads (77 / 100 vs 58 / 100 for Ulta Beauty, Inc.).
  • Segment focus: Booking Holdings Inc. has 2 segments (95.5% in OTC online travel reservations (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda)); Ulta Beauty, Inc. has 3 segments (94% in Beauty Products Retail).
  • Primary market structure: Oligopoly vs Competitive. Pricing power: Moderate vs Moderate.
  • Moat breadth: Booking Holdings Inc. has 5 moat types across 4 domains; Ulta Beauty, Inc. has 8 across 5.

Primary market context

Booking Holdings Inc.

OTC online travel reservations (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda)

Market

Online travel agency (OTA) reservation platforms

Geography

Global

Customer

Two-sided: travelers (B2C) and travel service providers (B2B)

Role

Intermediary / marketplace

Revenue share

95.5%

Ulta Beauty, Inc.

Beauty Products Retail

Market

U.S. beauty products retail (specialty omnichannel beauty retailer)

Geography

United States

Customer

Consumers (end-users) shopping in-store and online

Role

Specialty retailer / distributor

Revenue share

94%

Side-by-side metrics

Booking Holdings Inc.
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Ticker / Exchange
BKNG - NASDAQ Global Select Market
ULTA - NASDAQ
Market cap (USD)
$177B
$29.9B
Gross margin (TTM)
100%
39.2%
Operating margin (TTM)
32.7%
13.2%
Net margin (TTM)
19.4%
9.9%
Sector
Consumer
Consumer
Industry
Travel Services
Specialty Retail
HQ country
US
US
Primary segment
OTC online travel reservations (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda)
Beauty Products Retail
Market structure
Oligopoly
Competitive
Market share
23%-31% (implied)
8%-10% (reported)
HHI estimate
n/a
n/a
Pricing power
Moderate
Moderate
Moat score
77 / 100
58 / 100
Moat domains
Network, Demand, Supply, Financial
Demand, Supply, Legal, Network, Financial
Last update
2025-12-25
2026-01-06

Moat coverage

Shared moat types

Two Sided NetworkFloat Prepayment

Booking Holdings Inc. strengths

Brand TrustHabit DefaultScope Economies

Ulta Beauty, Inc. strengths

Switching Costs GeneralPhysical Network DensityContractual ExclusivityPreferential Input AccessSuite BundlingData Network Effects

Segment mix

Booking Holdings Inc. segments

Full profile >

OTC online travel reservations (Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda)

Oligopoly

95.5%

Metasearch & restaurant reservations (KAYAK, OpenTable)

Competitive

4.5%

Ulta Beauty, Inc. segments

Full profile >

Beauty Products Retail

Competitive

94%

Beauty Services

Competitive

4%

Platform Monetization (Retail Media, Credit Cards, Partner Royalties, Deferred Revenue)

Competitive

2%

Want the full wide moat stocks list?

Browse the full ranking of wide moat stocks, updated with moat scores and segment context.

View the moat stocks list

Looking for expansion-stage stocks?

Proven models entering the expansion stage with unit economics that work.

View expansion-stage stocks

Curation & Accuracy

This directory blends AI‑assisted discovery with human curation. Entries are reviewed, edited, and organized with the goal of expanding coverage and sharpening quality over time. Your feedback helps steer improvements (because no single human can capture everything all at once).

Details change. Pricing, features, and availability may be incomplete or out of date. Treat listings as a starting point and verify on the provider’s site before making decisions. If you spot an error or a gap, send a quick note and I’ll adjust.