BNED vs BBY Stock Comparison

Barnes & Noble Education and Best Buy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
BBY Best Buy Co Inc
$99.85 +10.0% 1M +21.1% 1Y
Market cap
$20.69B
P/E
16.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$42.20B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Retail Consumer Discretionary
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionBNEDBBYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $470.32M $20.69B BBY
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 21.2x 16.3x BBY
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.7x 13.8x BBY
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.0% +1.4% BNED
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.3% 3.0% BBY
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 29.0% BBY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x -0.4x BBY
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +44.8% +21.1% BNED
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -57.7%/yr -3.4%/yr BBY
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 63.1% 37.4% BBY
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 64/100 BBY

Percentile Scorecard

BNEDBBY

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

AxisBNEDBBY
Valuation 78 #24 of 104 62 #40 of 104
Growth 90 #11 of 99 50 #50 of 99
Profitability 53 #47 of 99 79 #22 of 99
Financial Health 49 #58 of 113 56 #50 of 113
Shareholder Returns 21 #58 of 73 71 #22 of 73
Overall 58 64
  • BNED ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • BBY ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBNEDBBYSPY
1 month +20.7%+10.0% -1.0%
3 months +13.9%+16.9% +2.9%
6 months +24.9%+65.2% +6.4%
Year to date +47.3%+49.2% +11.4%
1 year +44.8%+21.1% +13.1%
3 years -86.6%+46.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -48.8%+13.7% +21.5%
5 years -98.6%-15.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year -57.7%-3.4% +10.9%
10 years -98.6%+153.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year -34.7%+9.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBNEDBBYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 63.1%37.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.4%32.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.550.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.710.56 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.4%-59.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.9%0.0% -2.5%
52-week high $13.94$99.85 $779.14
52-week low $6.12$55.52 $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.

MultipleBNEDBBY
P/E now vs peer median 21.0xmedian 16.7x 16.6xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.5x 0.5xmedian 0.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.5xmedian 9.1x 7.9xmedian 9.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 16.6x 11.9xmedian 16.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.7x 6.6xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.65median 0.73 32.79median 0.73

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 monthsBNEDBBY
Revenue $1.72B $42.20B
Gross profit $367.84M $9.57B
Operating income $42.45M $1.71B
Net income $22.23M $1.27B
Free cash flow $48.80M $1.77B
EPS (diluted) $0.64 $5.98
Cash & equivalents $7.81M $2.26B
Total debt $123.50M $1.17B
Shares (diluted) 34.53M 212.70M
Enterprise value $432.24M $14.03B

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
MetricBNEDBBY
P/E 21.0x 16.6x
P/FCF 9.6x 11.9x
P/Operating cash flow 7.2x 8.5x
P/S 0.3x 0.5x
P/B 1.7x 6.6x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 6.6x
EV/EBITDA 7.5x 7.9x
EV/EBIT 13.8x 11.7x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 0.5x
EV/FCF 12.0x 11.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.0x 8.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.65 32.79

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBNEDBBY
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.0% 1.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% -1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.6% 2.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.5% -0.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 34.9% 64.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 38.4% 1.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% 63.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 30.4% -0.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.6% 63.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.6% 0.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 781.0% 19.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 84.2% -3.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 320.0% 30.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 49.1% -1.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBNEDBBY
Gross margin 21.4% 22.7%
EBITDA margin 4.5% 5.9%
Operating margin 2.5% 4.1%
Pretax margin 1.6% 4.1%
Net margin 1.3% 3.0%
FCF margin 2.8% 4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 3.8% 5.9%
Return on equity 7.8% 40.5%
Return on assets 2.8% 8.2%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 29.0%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 26.1%
Asset turnover 2.2x 2.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.9x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBNEDBBY
Debt / assets 14.6% 7.3%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 67.1% 80.2%
Equity / assets 32.9% 19.8%
Interest coverage – 38.0x
Current ratio 1.7x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.85 4.27

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBNEDBBY
Dividend yield 1.2% 3.8%
Net buyback yield – 0.7%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 4.5%
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.

ConsensusBNEDBBY
Forward P/E 14.7xFY2026 13.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.92FY2026 $7.25FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.5%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +989.1% -4.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.87BFY2026 $44.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.3%FY2026 +6.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.2% -8.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBNEDBBY
Held by institutions 77.2% 93.2%
Institutions holding 111 873
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.3% -0.3%
Institutions buying 63 463
Institutions selling 29 323
Buyers to sellers 2.17 1.43

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.

BNEDBBY
BNED 1.00 0.27
BBY 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BNED and BBY?

Best Buy (BBY) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) $470.32M, Best Buy (BBY) $20.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, BNED and BBY?

Best Buy (BBY) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 21.2x, Best Buy (BBY) 16.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Best Buy (BBY) is cheapest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 14.7x, Best Buy (BBY) 13.8x). 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: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +5.0%, Best Buy (BBY) +1.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Best Buy (BBY) has the highest net margin (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.3%, Best Buy (BBY) 3.0%). On return on invested capital, Best Buy (BBY) leads (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 8.9%, Best Buy (BBY) 29.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) returned the most: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +44.8%, Best Buy (BBY) +21.1%. Over five years, Best Buy (BBY) compounded fastest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) -57.7%/yr, Best Buy (BBY) -3.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Best Buy (BBY) has been the steadiest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 63.1%, Best Buy (BBY) 37.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do BNED and BBY move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.27, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, BNED and BBY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Best Buy (BBY) 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.