BNED vs DKS vs ASO Stock Comparison

Barnes & Noble Education, Dick'S Sporting Goods and Academy Sports & Outdoors Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DKS Dick'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
$136.09 +1.4% 1M -40.8% 1Y
Market cap
$12.09B
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$21.15B
Div. yield
3.65%
Specialty Retail Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Academy Sports & Outdoors leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Academy Sports & Outdoors 8, Dick'S Sporting Goods 3, Barnes & Noble Education 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBNEDDKSASOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $448.14M $12.09B $3.64B DKS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 20.1x 14.4x 9.2x ASO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.0x 12.5x 8.2x ASO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.0% +53.5% +3.7% DKS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.3% 4.0% 6.4% ASO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% 11.1% 17.6% ASO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 0.6x 0.3x ASO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.24% 3.65% 0.99% DKS
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +39.5% -40.8% +17.0% BNED
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -58.4%/yr +1.8%/yr +6.5%/yr ASO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 63.2% 52.1% 44.0% ASO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 55/100 64/100 ASO

Percentile Scorecard

BNEDDKSASO

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

AxisBNEDDKSASO
Valuation 79 #23 of 104 65 #37 of 104 80 #22 of 104
Growth 90 #11 of 98 47 #52 of 98 39 #60 of 98
Profitability 53 #46 of 96 56 #43 of 96 71 #29 of 96
Financial Health 48 #58 of 110 51 #55 of 110 60 #45 of 110
Shareholder Returns 24 #54 of 71 59 #30 of 71 69 #23 of 71
Overall 59 55 64
  • BNED ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • DKS ranked among 115 companies in Retail
  • ASO ranked among 115 companies in Retail

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBNEDDKSASOSPY
1 month +15.9%+1.4%+20.6% +0.9%
3 months +2.9%-33.9%+19.5% +5.9%
6 months +32.5%-38.1%+9.9% +8.5%
Year to date +40.6%-31.3%+17.4% +13.3%
1 year +39.5%-40.8%+17.0% +12.4%
3 years -86.7%+34.7%+35.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year -49.0%+10.5%+10.7% +23.5%
5 years -98.8%+9.6%+37.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year -58.4%+1.8%+6.5% +11.0%
10 years -98.6%+145.6%— +263.4%
10 years, per year -34.8%+9.4%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureBNEDDKSASOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 63.2%52.1%44.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.8%61.3%42.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.550.790.75 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.62-0.780.38 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -99.4%-51.6%-54.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.3%-43.1%-5.1% -0.9%
52-week high $13.94$239.17$61.78 $779.14
52-week low $6.12$121.11$41.73 $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.

MultipleBNEDDKSASO
P/E now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 16.7x 14.4xmedian 16.7x 9.2xmedian 16.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 0.4x 0.6xmedian 0.4x 0.6xmedian 0.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 7.2xmedian 9.2x 7.4xmedian 9.2x 5.3xmedian 9.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 16.0x 50.5xmedian 16.0x 11.0xmedian 16.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.6xmedian 1.6x 2.1xmedian 1.6x 1.7xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.62median 0.73 -1.98median 0.73 -2.68median 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 monthsBNEDDKSASO
Revenue $1.72B $21.15B $6.19B
Gross profit $367.84M $6.78B $2.22B
Operating income $42.45M $1.17B $591.56M
Net income $22.23M $838.83M $395.85M
Free cash flow $48.80M $239.41M $331.42M
EPS (diluted) $0.64 $9.31 $6.23
Cash & equivalents $7.81M $913.74M $298.21M
Total debt $123.50M $1.91B $494.16M
Shares (diluted) 34.53M 90.13M 63.55M
Enterprise value $410.06M $8.00B $2.38B

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
MetricBNEDDKSASO
P/E 20.1x 14.4x 9.2x
P/FCF 9.2x 50.5x 11.0x
P/Operating cash flow 6.9x 7.6x 6.6x
P/S 0.3x 0.6x 0.6x
P/B 1.6x 2.1x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.4x 2.3x
EV/EBITDA 7.2x 7.4x 5.3x
EV/EBIT 13.3x 11.2x 6.5x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 0.6x 0.6x
EV/FCF 11.6x 54.6x 11.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.7x 8.2x 7.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.62 -1.98 -2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBNEDDKSASO
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.0% 53.5% 3.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.4% 18.8% -0.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.6% 36.3% 9.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.5% 16.2% 1.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 34.9% -21.6% 21.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 38.4% -2.8% -6.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 12.1% -28.5% 6.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 30.4% -6.1% -9.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.6% -35.7% 13.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 32.6% -7.3% -3.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 781.0% 12.1% 15.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 84.2% 1.7% 0.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 320.0% -48.5% 38.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 49.1% -39.3% -3.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBNEDDKSASO
Gross margin 21.4% 32.1% 35.8%
EBITDA margin 4.5% 8.4% 11.6%
Operating margin 2.5% 5.5% 9.6%
Pretax margin 1.6% 5.5% 8.2%
Net margin 1.3% 4.0% 6.4%
FCF margin 2.8% 1.1% 5.4%
Operating cash flow margin 3.8% 7.5% 8.8%
Return on equity 7.8% 14.8% 18.4%
Return on assets 2.8% 4.7% 7.2%
Return on invested capital 8.9% 11.1% 17.6%
Return on capital employed 9.7% 8.9% 13.7%
Asset turnover 2.2x 1.2x 1.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.9x 1.9x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.7% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBNEDDKSASO
Debt / assets 14.6% 10.4% 9.0%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.3x 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.5x 0.6x 0.3x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 8.0x 1.5x
Liabilities / assets 67.1% 68.6% 60.5%
Equity / assets 32.9% 31.4% 39.5%
Interest coverage – 16.4x –
Current ratio 1.7x 1.5x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.83 2.66 2.81

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBNEDDKSASO
Dividend yield 1.2% 3.6% 1.0%
Net buyback yield – 1.5% 7.5%
Shareholder yield 1.2% 5.1% 8.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 52.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 184.9% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 18.1% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 18.0% –

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.

ConsensusBNEDDKSASO
Forward P/E 14.0xFY2026 12.5xFY2026 8.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.92FY2026 $10.93FY2026 $7.18FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +41.5%FY2026 -17.2%FY2026 +24.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1,038.0% +23.8% -6.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.85BFY2026 $21.45BFY2026 $6.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +24.5%FY2026 -0.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.2% +1.8% +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBNEDDKSASO
Held by institutions 77.2% 77.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 111 788 362
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.3% +5.5% +1.9%
Institutions buying 63 416 179
Institutions selling 29 249 125
Buyers to sellers 2.17 1.67 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.

BNEDDKSASO
BNED 1.00 0.10 0.13
DKS 0.10 1.00 0.44
ASO 0.13 0.44 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BNED, DKS and ASO?

Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) $448.14M, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) $12.09B, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) $3.64B.

Which stock is cheaper, BNED, DKS and ASO?

Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 20.1x, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 14.4x, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 9.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) is cheapest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 14.0x, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 12.5x, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 8.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +5.0%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) +53.5%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +3.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) has the highest net margin (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.3%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 4.0%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 6.4%). On return on invested capital, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) leads (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 8.9%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 11.1%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) returned the most: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) +39.5%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) -40.8%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +17.0%. Over five years, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) compounded fastest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) -58.4%/yr, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) +1.8%/yr, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) +6.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) has the highest dividend yield: Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 1.24%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 3.65%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 0.99%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) has been the steadiest (Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) 63.2%, Dick'S Sporting Goods (DKS) 52.1%, Academy Sports & Outdoors (ASO) 44.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BNED, DKS and ASO?

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 8. 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.