Designer Brands

DBI · NYSE · Consumer Discretionary · Financials, fiscal 2016 to 2025

DBI · Last close · November 6, 2026

$6.43

Designer Brands' revenue fell 3.9% to $2.9 billion in fiscal 2025. Its operating margin was 1.6%, up from 1.2% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $78 million, up 149.7%. It paid out $10 million in dividends and buybacks, 12% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 8.4%.

DESIGNER BRANDS INC. Latest fiscal year ended January 31, 2026 10-K filed March 30, 2026 · 0001319947-26-000022 Updated November 9, 2026

Revenue

$2.9B

3.9%

Operating margin

1.6%

0.5 pts

Net income

−$8M

Free cash flow

$78M

149.7%

Return on capital

3.4%

0.4 pts

Market cap

$360M

Nov 6 close

P/E

23.0x

On $0.28 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.

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

What Designer Brands does

Designer Brands, originally DSW Inc., designs, produces and sells footwear and accessories. It reports two segments: Retail and Brand Portfolio.

The Retail segment sells dress, casual and athletic footwear and accessories for women, men and kids in stores and online. Its banners are DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse in the U.S. and Canada, The Shoe Co. in Canada, and Rubino in Quebec. It bought Rubino on April 8, 2024. Online orders can be filled from stores, directly by suppliers, or from a New Jersey distribution center it shares with the Brand Portfolio segment.

The Brand Portfolio segment mostly earns revenue by selling its exclusive and licensed brands wholesale to retailers, to its own Retail segment and to international distributors. It also sells its Vince Camuto, Keds and Topo brands directly to consumers on e-commerce sites. Beginning with this annual report it combined its U.S. and Canada retail segments into one, and it recast earlier periods to match.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Weaker economic conditions or consumer confidence that cut discretionary spending.
Changes to U.S. tariff policy.
Strong competition in footwear, and changing consumer preferences and fashion trends.
Relying on suppliers to provide enough merchandise at good prices.
Losses or disruptions at its distribution centers and stores, or in IT services.

From Designer Brands's annual report on Form 10-K, filed March 30, 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 2016 to 2023, earnings per share fell 15.6% a year and net income 18.7% a year, while buybacks cut the share count by 23%. Designer Brands then lost money in fiscal 2024 and 2025.

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	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Cash and short-term investments	73	59	49	45	51
Debt incl. finance leases	226	281	420	484	459
Net debt (negative means net cash)	153	222	371	440	408
Net debt to EBITDA	0.5x	0.8x	2.7x	4.5x	3.8x
Debt to equity	0.6x	0.7x	1.2x	1.7x	1.6x
Interest coverage	6.4x	12.4x	2.2x	0.8x	1.2x
Current ratio	1.2x	1.2x	1.2x	1.2x	1.2x
Quick ratio	0.4x	0.3x	0.3x	0.2x	0.2x

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 Designer Brands' 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 Designer Brands' projections

Insider trades

No officer, director or 10% owner of Designer Brands 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	FY23	FY24	FY25
Piotroski F-score	5 of 9	3 of 9	6 of 9
Rule of 40	−3.8%	−1.1%	−1.2%
Altman Z''	1.10	0.88	0.85
Accruals ratio	−6.5%	−4.5%	−6.0%

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	FY23	FY24	FY25
Net income is positive	Pass	Fail	Fail
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Pass
Current ratio rose	Pass	Fail	Fail
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Pass	Pass
Gross margin rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Fail
F-score	5 of 9	3 of 9	6 of 9

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

Compare

Put Designer Brands 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
Designer Brands	FY25	−3.9%	1.6%	2.7%	3.4%	3.8x	6
Genesco	FY26	4.8%	0.7%	3.4%	3.5%	−1.4x	7	Compare
Boot Barn	FY26	17.9%	13.3%	5.6%	—	—	—	Compare
Abercrombie & Fitch	FY25	6.4%	13.3%	7.2%	91.0%	−0.9x	5	Compare
American Eagle Outfitters	FY25	4.1%	4.1%	3.5%	11.5%	−0.4x	4	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	FY16	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25
Income statement
Revenue	2,718	2,806	3,178	3,493	2,235	3,197	3,315	3,075	3,009	2,893
Revenue growth	3.7%	3.2%	13.3%	9.9%	−36.0%	43.0%	3.7%	−7.2%	−2.1%	−3.9%
Gross profit	780	799	939	1,000	311	1,069	1,455	1,324	1,286	1,260
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	200	125	59	127	−586	205	187	72	35	48
Net income	124	68	−20	94	−489	154	163	29	−10	−8
Diluted EPS (US$)	1.51	0.84	−0.26	1.27	−6.77	2.00	2.26	0.46	−0.20	−0.17
Diluted shares (millions)	82	81	80	75	72	77	72	63	54	49
Cash flow
Cash from operations	213	191	175	197	−154	171	201	162	82	110
Capital expenditure	88	56	65	78	31	33	55	55	51	32
Free cash flow	125	135	110	119	−185	138	146	107	31	78
Dividends paid	65	64	80	73	7	0	14	12	10	10
Share buybacks	50	9	48	142	0	0	148	102	69	0
Acquisitions	60	0	199	0	0	0	19	128	16	0
Stock-based compensation	13	15	17	17	20	24	28	29	19	19
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	209	300	169	112	60	73	59	49	45	51
Debt incl. finance leases	—	0	160	190	272	226	281	420	484	459
Total assets	1,428	1,422	1,621	2,465	1,977	2,015	2,010	2,076	2,009	1,948
Total liabilities	491	466	788	1,744	1,734	1,602	1,574	1,714	1,727	1,660
Shareholders' equity	−14	−10	−3	−2	−3	412	433	359	278	282
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	28.7%	28.5%	29.5%	28.6%	13.9%	33.4%	43.9%	43.1%	42.7%	43.6%
Operating margin	7.4%	4.5%	1.9%	3.6%	−26.2%	6.4%	5.7%	2.4%	1.2%	1.6%
Net margin	4.6%	2.4%	−0.6%	2.7%	−21.9%	4.8%	4.9%	0.9%	−0.3%	−0.3%
Free cash flow margin	4.6%	4.8%	3.5%	3.4%	−8.3%	4.3%	4.4%	3.5%	1.0%	2.7%
Rule of 40 (growth + FCF margin)	8.3%	8.0%	16.7%	13.3%	−44.3%	47.4%	8.1%	−3.8%	−1.1%	−1.2%
Return on capital	—	—	4.0%	12.4%	−73.8%	35.9%	30.7%	7.6%	3.8%	3.4%
Return on equity	—	—	—	—	—	75.5%	38.5%	7.3%	−3.3%	−3.0%
Return on assets	8.9%	4.7%	−1.4%	4.6%	−22.0%	7.7%	8.1%	1.4%	−0.5%	−0.4%
Net debt to EBITDA	—	−1.5x	−0.1x	0.4x	—	0.5x	0.8x	2.7x	4.5x	3.8x

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: Designer Brands' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Designer Brands.