Barnes & Noble Education

BNED · NYSE · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2017 to 2026

BNED · Last close · November 6, 2026

$12.58

Barnes & Noble Education's revenue rose 6.5% to $1.7 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 2.1%, up from 1.0% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $34 million. The diluted share count rose 31.6%.

BARNES & NOBLE EDUCATION, INC. Latest fiscal year ended May 2, 2026 10-K filed July 9, 2026 · 0001634117-26-000070 Updated November 9, 2026

Revenue

$1.7B

6.5%

Operating margin

2.1%

1.1 pts

Net income

$17M

Free cash flow

$34M

Return on capital

8.2%

4.3 pts

Market cap

$434M

Nov 6 close

P/E

19.7x

On $0.64 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

About these figures. Share counts and per-share figures for earlier years are restated for a stock split (1-for-20), so every year is on today's share basis.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

What Barnes & Noble Education does

Barnes & Noble Education runs bookstores, physical and virtual, for college and university campuses and for K-12 schools across the United States. It is also a textbook wholesaler and a provider of inventory management hardware and software. As of May 2, 2026, it operated 1,116 physical and virtual bookstores selling course materials and general merchandise. Its subsidiaries include Barnes & Noble College, which runs the stores, and MBS Textbook Exchange, the wholesaler.

It works through contracts with schools. Under its First Day programs, including First Day Complete, students get faculty-required course materials by the first day of class at below the combined retail price, billed by the school as a course charge or included in tuition. It says these programs have reversed past declines in course materials revenue at schools that adopted them. It plans to get more schools to adopt First Day Complete.

For online sales and general merchandise, it uses Fanatics and Lids as service providers.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Reliance on capital markets, bank credit facilities and short-term vendor financing for liquidity.
Failing to win, keep or renew managed bookstore contracts on profitable terms.
Competition that it expects to grow.
Changes in how publishers distribute course materials, and disrupted supplier relationships.
Managing wholesale inventory, and dependence on shipping arrangements.

From Barnes & Noble Education's annual report on Form 10-K, filed July 9, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new annual report.

Income statement

Revenue and net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; net losses in red. Revenue on the left axis, net income on the right; zero is the same line on both.

Revenue (left axis)Net income (right axis)

Gross profit, R&D and operating income

US$ billions, fiscal years. Gross profit is revenue minus the cost of what was sold; research and development is one of the costs paid from it; what remains after all operating costs is operating income. Losses in red.

Gross profitResearch and developmentOperating income

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share fell 15.4% a year and net income grew 13.5% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 1404% and diluted each share's earnings.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Balance sheet

Cash and debt

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Debt includes finance leases.

Cash and short-term investmentsDebt

Assets, liabilities and equity

US$ billions, at each fiscal year end. Assets equal liabilities plus equity; negative equity in red.

Total assetsTotal liabilitiesShareholders' equity

Debt and liquidity ratios

Times. Debt to equity, current assets over current liabilities, and net debt over EBITDA (a full year's).

Debt to equityCurrent ratioNet debt to EBITDA

Five years at a glance

Fiscal year end	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Cash and short-term investments	9	14	10	9	8
Debt incl. finance leases	226	182	196	103	71
Net debt (negative means net cash)	217	168	186	94	63
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	27.5x	1.8x	0.9x
Debt to equity	1.0x	1.2x	2.4x	0.4x	0.2x
Interest coverage	−7.4x	−3.5x	−1.4x	0.9x	2.9x
Current ratio	1.3x	1.2x	1.1x	1.7x	1.7x
Quick ratio	0.6x	0.5x	0.4x	0.6x	0.7x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Cash flow

Cash from operations, capital spending and free cash flow

US$ billions, fiscal years. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; negative years in red.

Cash from operationsCapital spendingFree cash flow

Stock-based compensation and buybacks

US$ billions, fiscal years. Shares paid to employees (stock-based compensation, a cost that uses no cash) against cash spent buying shares back. Buybacks that only match it leave the share count roughly where it was.

Stock-based compensationShare buybacks

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Projections

Project Barnes & Noble Education's revenue, net income and earnings per share five years ahead in a bull, a base and a bear case with your own figures, and see the share prices your P/E estimates give them, or value it with a discounted cash flow model. Every projected figure is yours: it is not a forecast of ours.

Open Barnes & Noble Education's projections

Insider trades

No officer, director or 10% owner of Barnes & Noble Education reported buying or selling its shares on the open market between November 7, 2025 and November 6, 2026.

From Form 4 filings with the SEC. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insider trades at all companies

Indicators

Four widely used measures, worked out from the company's filings. The cutoffs are the ones their authors or users go by, not a verdict of ours.

Indicator	FY24	FY25	FY26
Piotroski F-score	3 of 9	4 of 9	8 of 9
Rule of 40	0.3%	−3.4%	8.5%
Altman Z''	−2.13	−0.71	−0.26
Accruals ratio	−7.5%	2.3%	−4.3%

Piotroski F-score: how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency the company passed in the year (Piotroski, 2000); 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Rule of 40: revenue growth plus free cash flow margin; software investors treat 40% or more as the bar. Altman Z'': working capital, retained earnings, operating income and equity weighed against assets and liabilities (Altman, 1995); Altman puts above 2.6 in the safe zone and below 1.1 in the distress zone. Accruals ratio: net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets; lower means profit is backed by cash.

The nine F-score tests

Test	FY24	FY25	FY26
Net income is positive	Fail	Fail	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Fail	Fail	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Fail	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	3 of 9	4 of 9	8 of 9

Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Compare

Put Barnes & Noble Education side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Barnes & Noble Education	FY26	6.5%	2.1%	2.0%	8.2%	0.9x	8
Savers Value Village	FY25	9.2%	7.4%	2.9%	7.1%	3.3x	6	Compare
TheRealReal	FY25	15.4%	−3.5%	2.6%	—	−1.1x	6	Compare
Build-A-Bear Workshop	FY26	6.7%	—	7.5%	—	—	—	Compare
Petco	FY25	−2.5%	2.0%	3.1%	2.9%	3.9x	8	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score under Indicators.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Income statement
Revenue	1,874	2,204	2,035	1,851	1,406	1,496	1,543	1,567	1,610	1,715
Revenue growth	3.7%	17.6%	−7.7%	−9.0%	−24.0%	6.3%	3.2%	1.6%	2.8%	6.5%
Gross profit	459	557	528	442	230	343	349	345	338	366
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	14	−263	−28	−43	−169	−61	−66	−34	16	36
Net income	5	−253	−24	−38	−140	−69	−102	−76	−66	17
Diluted EPS (US$)	2.20	−108.00	−10.40	−16.00	−56.20	−26.60	−38.61	−28.46	−2.50	0.49
Diluted shares (millions)	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	26	35
Cash flow
Cash from operations	68	60	122	−9	33	1	92	−5	−85	50
Capital expenditure	35	43	46	36	28	34	25	14	13	16
Free cash flow	33	17	75	−45	5	−32	67	−19	−98	34
Dividends paid	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Share buybacks	9	2	2	1	1	2	1	0	0	0
Acquisitions	187	58	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stock-based compensation	9	8	9	7	5	6	5	3	5	6
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	19	16	14	8	8	9	14	10	9	8
Debt incl. finance leases	—	—	—	—	—	226	182	196	103	71
Total assets	1,300	1,039	946	1,156	1,031	1,072	981	910	790	740
Total liabilities	586	571	496	739	738	843	850	830	518	446
Shareholders' equity	714	468	451	418	293	228	153	80	272	294
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	24.5%	25.3%	25.9%	23.9%	16.4%	22.9%	22.6%	22.0%	21.0%	21.4%
Operating margin	0.7%	−11.9%	−1.4%	−2.3%	−12.0%	−4.0%	−4.3%	−2.2%	1.0%	2.1%
Net margin	0.3%	−11.5%	−1.2%	−2.1%	−9.9%	−4.6%	−6.6%	−4.8%	−4.1%	1.0%
Free cash flow margin	1.8%	0.8%	3.7%	−2.4%	0.4%	−2.2%	4.3%	−1.2%	−6.1%	2.0%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	5.5%	18.4%	−4.0%	−11.4%	−23.6%	4.2%	7.5%	0.3%	−3.4%	8.5%
Return on capital	—	—	—	—	—	—	−13.7%	−9.1%	4.0%	8.2%
Return on equity	0.8%	−42.8%	−5.3%	−8.8%	−39.3%	−26.4%	−53.4%	−64.9%	−37.3%	6.0%
Return on assets	0.5%	−21.6%	−2.5%	−3.6%	−12.8%	−6.5%	−9.9%	−8.0%	−7.7%	2.2%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	27.5x	1.8x	0.9x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Barnes & Noble Education's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Barnes & Noble Education.