Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.

PLAY

NASDAQ · Entertainment

$6.75

At close - Oct 2, 4:00 PM EDT - USD

Market Cap$235M

P/E-4.8x

52W High$22.10

Volume2.07M

VCP Research Verdict2026Q1

Structural Margin Compression Challenges Capital Intensive Model

Dave & Buster's faces a precarious outlook characterized by persistent revenue contraction and significant operating leverage pressure, as evidenced by a decline in operating margins from 15.2% in 2024Q2 to 9.7% in 2026Q1. The company's reliance on an asset-he...

GrowthContracting

ProfitabilityStrained

ValuationAttractive

TechnicalsWeak

Explore valuation models

MARKET ACTION

PLAY price & volume

Price trend, volume and key moving averages

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Market performance

Price History →

Trailing total returns as of 10/3/2026, which may include dividends or other distributions. Benchmark is S&P 500 (^GSPC).

YTD Return

PLAY-60.39%

S&P 500 (^GSPC)+12.66%

1-Year Return

PLAY-62.75%

S&P 500 (^GSPC)+15.01%

3-Year Return

PLAY-81.70%

S&P 500 (^GSPC)+84.19%

5-Year Return

PLAY-83.30%

S&P 500 (^GSPC)+88.32%

Test the fundamentals

Check whether operating performance supports the current valuation.

VALUATION & INTRINSIC VALUE

Valuation Scenarios

Valuation Analysis

Trailing P/E5Y Low

-4.8x

Forward P/E

53.4x

EV/EBITDA0th %ile

8.8x

FCF YieldCash Flow

N/A

Valuation vs 5-Year History

Multiple Range

Metric

Current

5Y Median

Historical Range

Percentile

P/E

-4.8x

18.2x

0th· Low

EV/EBITDA

8.8x

10.2x

0th· Low

Price/FCF

N/A

9.7x

N/A

Current Multiple

5Y Median (50th %ile)

Intrinsic Value Scenarios

DCF Projection

No DCF Model AvailableIntrinsic value modeling is not supported for this equity.

Growth & profitability

Annual revenue & EPS trend

Revenue

$2.1B-1.4% YoY

Net income

-$49M-183.5% YoY

Free cash flow

-$101M+53.8% YoY

Operating margin

5%-5.3 pts YoY

ROIC (TTM)2.4%

Avg ROIC 5Y-

ROE (TTM)-41.1%

Piotroski Score6 / 9

Financial Statements →

Monitor what changed

Recent results and news deserve attention only when they alter the forward view.

OPERATING RESULTS

Recent Earnings

Earnings History

EPS Beat Rate3/12 (25%)

Revenue Beat Rate2/12 (17%)

Quarter	EPS (Act vs Est)	Revenue (Act vs Est)
Q4 2026Latest Sep 14, 2026	-$0.36-300.0% vs $0.18	$544M-2.3% vs $557M
Q3 2026 Jun 15, 2026	$0.22-40.5% vs $0.37	$559M-3.7% vs $581M
Q2 2026 Mar 31, 2026	-$1.14-392.3% vs $0.39	$530M-4.7% vs $556M
Q4 2025 Dec 9, 2025	-$1.14+1.7% vs -$1.16	$448M-19.5% vs $557M

Historical baseline: 12 quarters analyzedGAAP / Adjusted

MARKET COVERAGE

Latest News

5 Stories

Defense World·Sep 25, 2026

Financial Comparison: Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) & Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY)

Dave and Buster's Entertainment (NASDAQ: PLAY - Get Free Report) and Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR - Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation. Volatility and Risk Dave and

Seeking Alpha·Sep 23, 2026

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

Seeking Alpha·Sep 23, 2026

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Defense World·Sep 22, 2026

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Dave and Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy

Filtered for Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.More Headlines

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Benchmark PLAY against direct peers instead of judging its metrics in isolation.

Peers Comparison

Key metrics vs top competitors for Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY)

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Company	Price	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	Rev Growth (1Y)	Net Margin	ROE	Div Yield
PLAYDave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.Current	$6.75	$234.82M	-4.82	-1.4%	-2.32%	-41.1%	—
EATBrinker International, Inc.	$202.00	$8.66B	18.58	7.86%	8.39%	123.85%	—
TXRHTexas Roadhouse, Inc.	$156.14	$10.26B	25.60	9.39%	6.63%	27.2%	—
DENNDenny's Corporation	$6.25	$321.87M	15.24	-2.5%	2.24%	—	—
ARKRArk Restaurants Corp.	$4.50	$16.23M	-1.42	-9.69%	-2.04%	-9.97%	—
BJRIBJ's Restaurants, Inc.	$61.93	$1.3B	28.67	3.08%	2.86%	10.97%	—

Compare PLAY vs Peers

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) vs competitors — business, growth, and fundamentals comparison against the closest industry rivals.

Closest Rival

vs EAT

Most directly comparable listed peer for PLAY.

Scale Benchmark

vs SBUX

Larger-name benchmark to compare PLAY against a more recognizable public peer.

Peer Set

Compare Top 5

vs EAT, TXRH, DENN, ARKR

Keep researching

Verify the primary filings, follow material updates, and answer the remaining questions.

PLAY SEC Filings & Documents

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) SEC filings — annual & quarterly reports (10-K, 10-Q)

8-K Announcements

Material company update

Sep 14, 2026·SEC

Material company update

Jun 25, 2026·SEC

Material company update

Jun 15, 2026·SEC

10-K Annual Reports

FY 2026

Mar 31, 2026·SEC

FY 2025

Apr 7, 2025·SEC

FY 2024

Apr 2, 2024·SEC

10-Q Quarterly Reports

FY 2026

Sep 14, 2026·SEC

FY 2026

Jun 15, 2026·SEC

FY 2025

Dec 9, 2025·SEC

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PLAY Frequently Asked Questions

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) stock FAQ — growth, dividends, profitability & financials explained

Growth & Financials

What is Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.'s revenue?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) reported $2.08B in revenue for fiscal year 2025. This represents a 300% increase from $520.8M in 2009.

How fast is Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. growing?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) saw revenue decline by 1.4% over the past year.

Is PLAY profitable?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) reported a net loss of $88.6M for fiscal year 2025.

Dividend & Returns

What is PLAY's return on equity?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) has a return on equity (ROE) of -41.1%. Negative ROE indicates the company is unprofitable.

What is Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.'s free cash flow?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY) had negative free cash flow of $16.0M in fiscal year 2025, likely due to heavy capital investments.

What if you invested $1,000 in PLAY back in 2009?

Total return calculator · dividends reinvested · 17+ years of data

See returns →

Quarter

EPS (Act vs Est)

Revenue (Act vs Est)

Q4 2026Latest

Sep 14, 2026

-$0.36-300.0%

vs $0.18

$544M-2.3%

vs $557M

Q3 2026

Jun 15, 2026

$0.22-40.5%

vs $0.37

$559M-3.7%

vs $581M

Q2 2026

Mar 31, 2026

-$1.14-392.3%

vs $0.39

$530M-4.7%

vs $556M

Q4 2025

Dec 9, 2025

-$1.14+1.7%

vs -$1.16

$448M-19.5%

vs $557M

Company

Price

Market Cap

P/E Ratio

Rev Growth (1Y)

Net Margin

ROE

Div Yield

PLAYDave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.Current

$6.75

$234.82M

-4.82

-1.4%

-2.32%

-41.1%

—

EATBrinker International, Inc.

$202.00

$8.66B

18.58

7.86%

8.39%

123.85%

—

TXRHTexas Roadhouse, Inc.

$156.14

$10.26B

25.60

9.39%

6.63%

27.2%

—

DENNDenny's Corporation

$6.25

$321.87M

15.24

-2.5%

2.24%

—

ARKRArk Restaurants Corp.

$4.50

$16.23M

-1.42

-9.69%

-2.04%

-9.97%

—

BJRIBJ's Restaurants, Inc.

$61.93

$1.3B

28.67

3.08%

2.86%

10.97%

—