Sally Beauty’s Q4 Sales Rise 0.6% as Beauty Systems Group Declines

Two businesses move in different directions Sally Beauty segment sales increased 1.6% to $550.3 million. Beauty Systems Group sales fell 0.8% to $402.2 million. The split left companywide growth modest: progress in the retail business had to absorb weakness in professional beauty distribution.

Lower expenses support profit Operating earnings rose 15.3% to $92.2 million, considerably faster than sales. Selling, general and administrative expenses declined 2.9%, while gross margin slipped to 51.9% from 52.2%. The profit improvement therefore came alongside lower overhead, rather than stronger gross profitability.

For the year ended September 30, 2026, sales increased 0.9% to $3.73 billion, but operating earnings declined 0.4%. The stronger final quarter is encouraging, although it has not yet translated into full-year operating profit growth. Sustained improvement will require more than one quarter of expense relief.