Barnes & Noble Education vs Petco
Petco reported revenue of $6.0 billion in fiscal 2025, 3.5 times Barnes & Noble Education's $1.7 billion in fiscal 2026. Barnes & Noble Education's revenue grew 6.5% in its latest year, and Petco's fell 2.5%. Barnes & Noble Education had an operating margin of 2.1%, against 2.0% at Petco. Free cash flow was $34 million at Barnes & Noble Education and $187 million at Petco. Their fiscal years end in different months (May 2 and January 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Barnes & Noble Education | Petco | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2026, May 2, 2026 | FY2025, Jan 31, 2026 |
| Revenue | $1.7B | $6.0B |
| Revenue growth | 6.5% | −2.5% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | 4.0% | 3.9% |
| Gross margin | 21.4% | 38.7% |
| Operating margin | 2.1% | 2.0% |
| Net margin | 1.0% | 0.1% |
| Free cash flow | $34M | $187M |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.0% | 3.1% |
| Return on capital | 8.2% | 2.9% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 0.9x | 3.9x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0M | $0M |
| Change in diluted share count | 31.6% | 4.7% |
| Last close | $12.58 | $2.96 |
| P/E at the last close | 19.7× | 29.6× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | — | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 of 9 | 8 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Barnes & Noble EducationPetco
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Barnes & Noble EducationPetco
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Barnes & Noble EducationPetco
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Barnes & Noble Education and Petco pages.