ESRT vs MSGS vs PLAY Stock Comparison

Empire State Realty Trust, Madison Square Garden Sports and Dave & Buster's Entertainment Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Madison Square Garden Sports leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Madison Square Garden Sports 8, Empire State Realty Trust 1, Dave & Buster's Entertainment 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESRTMSGSPLAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $856.05M $9.26B $277.61M MSGS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 278.6x 1,197x -3.1x ESRT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +2.0% +11.0% -1.5% MSGS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.4% 0.7% -4.3% MSGS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -1.1% — 1.7% PLAY
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 2.9x 4.5x MSGS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -36.8% +68.6% -57.2% MSGS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -12.8%/yr +15.9%/yr -27.3%/yr MSGS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.6% 29.7% 76.7% MSGS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 35/100 37/100 32/100 MSGS

Percentile Scorecard

ESRTMSGSPLAY

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

AxisESRTMSGSPLAY
Valuation 78 #33 of 145 16 #37 of 44 67 #15 of 44
Growth 1 #139 of 141 45 #24 of 43 7 #40 of 43
Profitability 26 #99 of 134 45 #23 of 41 43 #24 of 41
Financial Health 57 #60 of 138 41 #28 of 47 11 #42 of 47
Shareholder Returns 13 #114 of 131 – –
Overall 35 37 32
  • ESRT ranked among 149 companies in Property REITs
  • MSGS ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • PLAY ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESRTMSGSPLAYSPY
1 month +22.4%-4.6%+14.5% -0.2%
3 months -11.1%-3.2%-27.0% +3.9%
6 months -12.2%+14.7%-33.9% +8.2%
Year to date -22.9%+48.6%-53.2% +12.9%
1 year -36.8%+68.6%-57.2% +12.3%
3 years -37.3%+132.7%-78.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year -14.4%+32.5%-39.8% +23.3%
5 years -49.6%+108.8%-79.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year -12.8%+15.9%-27.3% +10.9%
10 years -74.0%+135.9%-81.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year -12.6%+9.0%-15.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureESRTMSGSPLAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.6%29.7%76.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.8%23.8%80.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.320.531.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.012.31-0.75 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-32.0%-90.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.8%-7.6%-64.2% -1.2%
52-week high $7.96$416.24$21.17 $779.14
52-week low $3.93$212.91$6.38 $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.

MultipleESRTMSGSPLAY
P/E now vs peer median 280.0xmedian 26.3x 1,197xmedian 17.0x -3.0xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 4.0x 8.0xmedian 1.9x 0.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 14.4x 291.8xmedian 10.8x 5.3xmedian 10.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.0xmedian 23.3x 151.1xmedian 11.2x -16.5xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 1.3x -35.2xmedian 2.4x 3.0xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -4.68median 1.91 -26.31median 0.56 0.07median 0.56

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 monthsESRTMSGSPLAY
Revenue $784.18M $1.15B $2.08B
Gross profit – $320.12M $1.78B
Operating income -$34.52M $28.87M $36.20M
Net income $9.26M $7.76M -$88.60M
Free cash flow -$437.31M $61.26M -$16.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.01 $0.32 $-2.55
Cash & equivalents $85.61M $164.51M $16.00M
Total debt $4.54B $1.10B $1.51B
Shares (diluted) 268.95M 24.25M 34.81M
Enterprise value $414.86M $8.86B $211.81M

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
MetricESRTMSGSPLAY
P/E 280.0x 1,197x -3.0x
P/FCF -2.0x 151.1x -16.5x
P/Operating cash flow 3.8x 147.7x 0.8x
P/S 1.1x 8.0x 0.1x
P/B 0.5x -35.2x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 0.5x -25.2x -2.9x
EV/EBITDA 10.0x 291.8x 5.3x
EV/EBIT -50.2x 323.9x 48.5x
EV/Revenue 2.2x 8.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF -4.0x 152.7x -109.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 7.6x 149.2x 5.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.68 -26.31 0.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESRTMSGSPLAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 2.0% 11.0% -1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 9.1% -1.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 12.7% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -1.9% -0.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -123.1% 94.9% -78.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% -30.3% -50.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -86.5% 134.6% -1,013%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -51.3% -45.2% -38.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -92.4% 134.3% -1,022%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -59.8% -45.5% -41.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% -31.6% 38.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.8% -25.7% -7.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -169.4% -30.4% 94.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -149.9% -26.0% -28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESRTMSGSPLAY
Gross margin – 27.7% 85.4%
EBITDA margin 22.1% 2.8% 15.9%
Operating margin -4.4% 2.5% 1.7%
Pretax margin 1.3% 1.6% -5.6%
Net margin 0.4% 0.7% -4.3%
FCF margin -55.8% 5.3% -0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 5.4% 15.5%
Return on equity 0.5% – -94.5%
Return on assets 0.2% 0.5% -2.1%
Return on invested capital -1.1% – 1.7%
Return on capital employed – 3.3% 1.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 24.6x 8.1x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 1.9% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESRTMSGSPLAY
Debt / assets 22.4% 16.8% 36.6%
Debt / equity 0.5x -1.0x 17.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 5.0x 2.9x 4.5x
Debt / FCF -2.2x 4.2x -94.2x
Liabilities / assets 58.1% 117.1% 97.9%
Equity / assets 41.9% -17.1% 2.1%
Interest coverage -0.3x 1.4x 0.2x
Current ratio – 0.5x 0.3x
Quick ratio – 0.4x 0.1x
Cash ratio – 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.53 0.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESRTMSGSPLAY
Dividend yield 3.1% – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 3.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 259.1% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) -5.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.9% – –

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.

ConsensusESRTMSGSPLAY
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.35FY2027 $-1.03FY2027 $-1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -240.0%FY2027 -421.9%FY2027 –
Revenue, next fiscal year $758.24MFY2026 $1.06BFY2027 $2.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.3%FY2026 -7.9%FY2027 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.5% +1.5% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESRTMSGSPLAY
Held by institutions 83.6% 81.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 228 463 171
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.4% +10.3% +2.6%
Institutions buying 141 247 92
Institutions selling 51 136 56
Buyers to sellers 2.76 1.82 1.64

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.

ESRTMSGSPLAY
ESRT 1.00 -0.05 0.16
MSGS -0.05 1.00 0.18
PLAY 0.16 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESRT, MSGS and PLAY?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) $856.05M, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) $9.26B, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) $277.61M.

Which stock is cheaper, ESRT, MSGS and PLAY?

Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 278.6x, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 1,197x, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -3.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) +2.0%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +11.0%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -1.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) has the highest net margin (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.4%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 0.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -4.3%). On return on invested capital, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) leads (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -1.1%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 1.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) returned the most: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -36.8%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +68.6%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -57.2%. Over five years, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) compounded fastest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) -12.8%/yr, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +15.9%/yr, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -27.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 0.03%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 0.00%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 0.00%. Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) and Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) has been the steadiest (Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) 36.6%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 29.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 76.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESRT, MSGS and PLAY?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 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.