ASO vs BNED Stock Comparison

Academy Sports & Outdoors and Barnes & Noble Education Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Academy Sports & Outdoors leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Academy Sports & Outdoors 9, Barnes & Noble Education 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionASOBNEDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.64B $472.77M ASO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 9.2x 21.2x ASO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.3x 14.8x ASO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +3.7% +5.0% BNED
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.4% 1.3% ASO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 17.6% 8.9% ASO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.5x ASO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 1.17% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.0% +44.1% BNED
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr -57.9%/yr ASO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.1% 63.2% ASO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 58/100 ASO

Percentile Scorecard

ASOBNED

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisASOBNED
Valuation 82 #20 of 104 78 #24 of 104
Growth 42 #58 of 99 89 #12 of 99
Profitability 70 #30 of 99 54 #46 of 99
Financial Health 63 #43 of 113 50 #57 of 113
Shareholder Returns 67 #25 of 73 21 #58 of 73
Overall 65 58
  • ASO ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BNED ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodASOBNEDSPY
1 month +21.3%+20.4% -0.8%
3 months +19.5%+6.2% +3.5%
6 months +5.5%+28.9% +7.0%
Year to date +19.3%+48.3% +12.2%
1 year +25.0%+44.1% +13.0%
3 years +37.8%-86.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.3%-48.0% +23.1%
5 years +39.6%-98.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +6.9%-57.9% +11.0%
10 years —-98.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year —-34.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureASOBNEDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.1%63.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.9%53.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.751.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.570.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.6%-99.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.5%-2.2% -1.8%
52-week high $61.78$13.94 $779.14
52-week low $41.73$6.12 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleASOBNED
P/E now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 16.7x 21.2xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.5x 0.3xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 9.0x 7.6xmedian 9.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 11.2xmedian 16.5x 9.7xmedian 16.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median -2.72median 0.72 0.65median 0.72

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsASOBNED
Revenue $6.19B $1.72B
Gross profit $2.22B $367.84M
Operating income $591.56M $42.45M
Net income $395.85M $22.23M
Free cash flow $331.42M $48.80M
EPS (diluted) $6.23 $0.64
Cash & equivalents $298.21M $7.81M
Total debt $494.16M $123.50M
Shares (diluted) 63.55M 34.53M
Enterprise value $2.39B $434.68M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricASOBNED
P/E 9.4x 21.2x
P/FCF 11.2x 9.7x
P/Operating cash flow 6.8x 7.3x
P/S 0.6x 0.3x
P/B 1.7x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 2.1x
EV/EBITDA 5.4x 7.6x
EV/EBIT 6.6x 13.9x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.3x
EV/FCF 11.7x 12.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.1x 9.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.72 0.65

Growth

14 metrics
MetricASOBNED
Revenue growth (1Y) 3.7% 5.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -0.1% 3.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.0% 5.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.4% 2.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.3% 34.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -6.4% 38.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 12.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.9% 30.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 13.7% 10.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 32.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.8% 781.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 84.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 38.5% 320.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 49.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricASOBNED
Gross margin 35.8% 21.4%
EBITDA margin 11.6% 4.5%
Operating margin 9.6% 2.5%
Pretax margin 8.2% 1.6%
Net margin 6.4% 1.3%
FCF margin 5.4% 2.8%
Operating cash flow margin 8.8% 3.8%
Return on equity 18.4% 7.8%
Return on assets 7.2% 2.8%
Return on invested capital 17.6% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 13.7% 9.7%
Asset turnover 1.1x 2.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricASOBNED
Debt / assets 9.0% 14.6%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.3x 1.5x
Debt / FCF 1.5x 2.5x
Liabilities / assets 60.5% 67.1%
Equity / assets 39.5% 32.9%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.7x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.82 1.86

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricASOBNED
Dividend yield 1.0% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 7.4% –
Shareholder yield 8.3% 1.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusASOBNED
Forward P/E 8.3xFY2026 14.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.17FY2026 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +24.0%FY2026 +41.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -6.3% +1,038.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.03BFY2026 $1.85BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.3%FY2026 +8.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +3.4% +6.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersASOBNED
Held by institutions 100.0% 77.2%
Institutions holding 362 111
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.9% +8.3%
Institutions buying 179 63
Institutions selling 125 29
Buyers to sellers 1.43 2.17

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ASOBNED
ASO 1.00 0.13
BNED 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ASO and BNED?

Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) $3.64B, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) $472.77M.

Which stock is cheaper, ASO and BNED?

Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 9.2x, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 21.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) is cheapest (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 8.3x, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 14.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +3.7%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) has the highest net margin (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 6.4%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.3%). On return on invested capital, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) leads (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 17.6%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) returned the most: Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +25.0%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +44.1%. Over five years, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) compounded fastest (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +6.9%/yr, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) -57.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 0.00%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.17%. Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) has been the steadiest (Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 44.1%, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 63.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ASO and BNED move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.13, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ASO and BNED?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) leads on 9. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.