Dave & Buster's Entertainment

PLAY

Leisure · Consumer Cyclical

Price

$10.25

+0.40 (+4.06%)

Market Cap

$356.6M

Exchange

NASDAQ

Winston Score

Winston is worried

Weak fundamentals across most pillars.

Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through May 5, 2026

How the score breaks down

Quality

Weak

Growth

Weak

Cash Flow

Weak

Stability

Weak

Valuation

Data not available

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Share count falling — buybacks

−29.6% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 49.3M (2022) → 34.7M (2026)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Dave & Buster's runs a chain of large entertainment venues in the United States and Canada that combine arcade games, amusement attractions, and full-service restaurants and bars under one roof. Customers are mostly families, young adults, and groups looking for a fun night out. The company also owns the Main Event Entertainment brand, which it acquired in 2022 and targets a similar but slightly younger family audience.

The company makes money by selling food and drinks, plus "Power Cards" that customers load with credits to play arcade and redemption games. It operates roughly 220 Dave & Buster's locations and around 50 Main Event venues across North America, giving it significant scale in the "eatertainment" niche. However, the business carries heavy debt from the Main Event acquisition, and with a low ROIC of 1.8%, the key risk is whether the company can improve profitability and traffic enough to service that debt as consumer spending on discretionary entertainment faces pressure.

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Growth Profile

For growth stock investors

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

-0.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue declining

EPS Growth

-556.0% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (4%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

2.9%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$17M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue declining

Dave & Buster's Entertainment's revenue is actually shrinking. In a growth stock, that removes the core investment thesis. The low Winston Score here may be warranted — unless there's a turnaround story.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale

Gross Margin

14.6%

Thin — 14.6% gross margin

Profit after running costs

Operating Margin

9.7%

Modest — 9.7% operating margin

Return on the money invested

ROCE

5.6%

Weak — 5.6% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth

Sales YoY

-0.8%

Shrinking sales (-0.8% YoY)

Profit growth

EPS YoY

-276.4%

Earnings shrinking (-276.4% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is

EPS Consistency

1/8 quarters

Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash

Cash Conversion

N/A

Data not available

Spare cash per sale

FCF Margin

-1.6%

Burning cash (-1.6%)

Free cash flow is negative. They are burning cash, not generating it.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns

Debt / Equity

15.08

Heavy debt load (15.08)

Covers its interest

Interest Cover

0.59x

Dangerous — barely covers interest (0.6x)

Interest coverage below 1. Their profits don't cover the interest bill.

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Valuation

Price vs profit

P/E Ratio (TTM)

N/M

Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful

Cheaper or dearer next year

P/E vs Forward

N/A

not available

Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.

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