Dave & Buster's
PLAY Nasdaq· Restaurants
Last close · Oct 26, 2026
$7.07
KIRA · Stoqly’s AI analyst, in plain words
- Dave & Buster's had $2.1B of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 1.4% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +37.0% a year on average.
- Its operating margin was 4.1%, down 6.2 pts: of every 100 in sales, about 4 is left after running the business.
- Dave & Buster's lost $48.7M in fiscal 2025.
- Free cash flow was −$101M in fiscal 2025, −4.8% of revenue.
- Dave & Buster's returned $23.9M to shareholders in fiscal 2025. The diluted share count fell 13.4%.
- Dave & Buster's owes $1.6B more than it holds in cash, about 4.3 years of operating profit.
Market cap
$246M
P/E
—
Revenue
$2.1B
Net income
−$48.7M
Free cash flow
−$101M
Operating margin
4.1%
Dave & Buster's in 30 seconds · fiscal 2025
Are sales growing?
−1.4%
No. Sales fell 1.4% last year.
Does it make a profit?
−2.3%
No. It lost money last year.
Does profit turn into cash?
−4.8%
No. It spent more cash than it brought in.
Is debt under control?
4.3x
Heavy. Repaying its debt would take 4.3 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
6 / 9
Mixed. It passes 6 of 9 health tests.
What Dave & Buster's does
Dave & Buster's owns and runs 243 entertainment and dining venues in North America under two brands. As of February 3, 2026 it had 179 Dave & Buster's stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, which combine a full food and drink menu, arcade games and sports viewing. It also had 64 Main Event stores in 22 states, which offer food and drinks along with bowling, laser tag, arcade games and virtual reality. Outside North America it is a franchisor, with four franchised Dave & Buster's locations open. Game play is a core part of the business. Customers buy game cards or credits at kiosks, through the mobile app or from staff. Entertainment revenue made up about 62.9% of total revenue in fiscal 2025, with the rest from other sources. Dave & Buster's stores average about 125 games and Main Event stores about 112. It leases space for its stores under long-term leases, and the company has substantial debt.
Biggest risks, in its own words
- Failing to carry out its strategy, including growing sales at existing stores.
- Changes in consumer tastes and spending, and competition from other entertainment and restaurant options.
- Its substantial debt and loan terms that limit what it can do.
- Long-term, non-cancelable store leases.
- Fiscal year ends
- February 3, 2026
- Latest annual report
- 10-K · Mar 31, 2026
- Legal name
- Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc.
- CIK
- 0001525769
Dave & Buster's · PLAY
Results and finances
The last 5 fiscal years. Amounts in USD.
| Fiscal year | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and profit | |||||
| Revenue | $1.3B | $2.0B | $2.2B | $2.1B | $2.1B |
| Revenue growth | 198.7% | 50.6% | 12.3% | −3.3% | −1.4% |
| Gross margin | 84.3% | 83.6% | 84.0% | 85.3% | 85.7% |
| Operating margin | 14.4% | 13.4% | 13.9% | 10.3% | 4.1% |
| Net income | $109M | $137M | $127M | $58.3M | −$48.7M |
| Net margin | 8.3% | 7.0% | 5.8% | 2.7% | −2.3% |
| Diluted EPS | $2.21 | $2.79 | $2.88 | $1.46 | −$1.40 |
| Cash | |||||
| Cash from operations | $283M | $444M | $364M | $312M | $291M |
| Capital expenditure | $92.2M | $234M | $330M | $530M | $391M |
| Free cash flow | $191M | $210M | $34.0M | −$218M | −$101M |
| FCF margin | 14.7% | 10.7% | 1.5% | −10.2% | −4.8% |
| Dividends paid | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Share buybacks | $0.0M | $25.0M | $300M | $172M | $23.9M |
| Share count change | 13.1% | −0.2% | −10.4% | −9.2% | −13.4% |
| Debt and strength | |||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $25.9M | $182M | $37.3M | $6.9M | $16.6M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $440M | $1.3B | $1.3B | $1.5B | $1.6B |
| Shareholders' equity | $275M | $411M | $251M | $146M | $91.2M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.3x | 2.6x | 2.5x | 3.3x | 4.3x |
| Current ratio | 0.5x | 0.7x | 0.3x | 0.2x | 0.3x |
| Interest coverage | 3.5x | 3.0x | 2.4x | 1.6x | 0.6x |
| Returns and quality | |||||
| Return on capital | 22.1% | 18.8% | 15.6% | 11.4% | 4.1% |
| Return on equity | 50.7% | 40.0% | 38.4% | 29.4% | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| Altman Z'' | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
Insiders bought, 12 months
$0.1M
3 insiders
Insiders sold, 12 months
$0.1M
1 insider
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
How to read these numbers
- Revenue:
- Total sales reported in the income statement.
- Operating margin:
- Operating income as a share of revenue.
- Net income:
- Profit after all expenses, interest and tax.
- Free cash flow:
- Cash from operations minus capital spending.
- Net debt / EBITDA:
- Years of EBITDA needed to pay off net debt. Below zero means more cash than debt.
- Return on capital:
- After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
Dave & Buster's · PLAY
Charts and comparison
Ten years at a glance, and how it stacks up against similar companies.
Revenue
Net income
Margins, % of revenue
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
Free cash flow
Dividends and buybacks
Similar companies
Each company’s latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods don’t line up exactly.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dave & Buster's PLAY | $246M | −1.4% | 4.1% | −4.8% | 4.1% | — | 6 |
| Papa John's PZZA | $603M | −0.3% | 4.3% | 3.0% | 19.3% | 23.1x | 4 |
| Wendy's WEN | $1.2B | −3.1% | 15.8% | 11.2% | 7.8% | 9.4x | 4 |
| Dutch Bros BROS | $5.7B | 27.9% | 9.8% | 3.3% | 11.9% | 58.4x | 5 |
| Shake Shack SHAK | $2.7B | 15.4% | 4.3% | 3.9% | 9.6% | 68.3x | 7 |
KIRA
At $7.07 a share, the company is worth $246M.
Dave & Buster's grew sales faster than 1 of its 4 similar companies.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001525769). Data updated October 11, 2026. For information only — not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.