MANU vs MSGS vs PLAY Stock Comparison

Manchester United, Madison Square Garden Sports and Dave & Buster's Entertainment Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MANU Manchester United plc
$20.72 +1.7% 1M +13.8% 1Y
Market cap
$3.61B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$909.31M
Div. yield
–
Entertainment Venues Consumer Discretionary
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Madison Square Garden Sports leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Madison Square Garden Sports 6, Manchester United 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMANUMSGSPLAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.61B $9.26B $246.39M MSGS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -61.7x 1,197x -2.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.5% +11.0% -1.5% MSGS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.4% 0.7% -4.3% MSGS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.6% — 1.7% MANU
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 2.9x 4.5x MANU
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.8% +68.6% -59.5% MSGS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.0%/yr +15.9%/yr -28.6%/yr MSGS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.6% 29.7% 76.5% MSGS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 37/100 32/100 MANU

Percentile Scorecard

MANUMSGSPLAY

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

AxisMANUMSGSPLAY
Valuation 30 #31 of 44 16 #37 of 44 67 #15 of 44
Growth 76 #11 of 43 45 #24 of 43 7 #40 of 43
Profitability 50 #21 of 41 45 #23 of 41 43 #24 of 41
Financial Health 24 #36 of 47 41 #28 of 47 11 #42 of 47
Shareholder Returns – – –
Overall 45 37 32
  • MANU ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • 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

PeriodMANUMSGSPLAYSPY
1 month +1.7%-4.6%+6.8% -0.8%
3 months -9.8%-3.2%-32.2% +3.5%
6 months +20.3%+14.7%-44.4% +7.0%
Year to date +30.2%+48.6%-56.4% +12.2%
1 year +13.8%+68.6%-59.5% +13.0%
3 years +17.1%+132.7%-79.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +5.4%+32.5%-41.1% +23.1%
5 years +27.5%+108.8%-81.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +5.0%+15.9%-28.6% +11.0%
10 years +34.1%+135.9%-82.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +3.0%+9.0%-15.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureMANUMSGSPLAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.6%29.7%76.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 32.1%23.8%80.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.680.531.56 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.412.31-0.78 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -54.5%-32.0%-90.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.3%-7.6%-66.6% -1.8%
52-week high $24.19$416.24$21.17 $779.14
52-week low $15.20$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.

MultipleMANUMSGSPLAY
P/E now vs peer median -61.7xmedian 17.1x 1,197xmedian 17.1x -2.8xmedian 17.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 1.9x 8.0xmedian 1.9x 0.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 10.9x 291.8xmedian 10.9x 5.2xmedian 10.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 11.4x 151.1xmedian 11.4x -15.4xmedian 11.4x
P/B now vs peer median 18.1xmedian 2.5x -35.2xmedian 2.5x 2.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 3.65median 0.57 -26.31median 0.57 0.07median 0.57

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 monthsMANUMSGSPLAY
Revenue $909.31M $1.15B $2.08B
Gross profit -$21.12M $320.12M $1.78B
Operating income $30.28M $28.87M $36.20M
Net income -$57.81M $7.76M -$88.60M
Free cash flow $363.93M $61.26M -$16.00M
EPS (diluted) $-0.34 $0.32 $-2.55
Cash & equivalents $89.13M $164.51M $16.00M
Total debt $3.96B $1.10B $1.51B
Shares (diluted) 172.43M 24.25M 34.81M
Enterprise value $3.27B $8.86B $180.59M

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
MetricMANUMSGSPLAY
P/E -61.7x 1,197x -2.8x
P/FCF 9.9x 151.1x -15.4x
P/Operating cash flow 14.3x 147.7x 0.8x
P/S 4.0x 8.0x 0.1x
P/B 18.1x -35.2x 2.8x
P/Tangible book 18.1x -25.2x -2.7x
EV/EBITDA 13.0x 291.8x 5.2x
EV/EBIT 146.4x 323.9x 48.0x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 8.1x 0.8x
EV/FCF 12.2x 152.7x -108.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.5x 149.2x 5.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.65 -26.31 0.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMANUMSGSPLAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.5% 11.0% -1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 9.1% -1.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 24.6% 12.7% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -1.9% -0.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 223.3% 94.9% -78.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 62.2% -30.3% -50.9%
Net income growth (1Y) -36.0% 134.6% -1,013%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -19.1% -45.2% -38.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.3% 134.3% -1,022%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -16.9% -45.5% -41.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 128.3% -31.6% 38.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.8% -25.7% -7.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 141.3% -30.4% 94.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 34.6% -26.0% -28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMANUMSGSPLAY
Gross margin -2.3% 27.7% 85.4%
EBITDA margin 37.6% 2.8% 15.9%
Operating margin 3.3% 2.5% 1.7%
Pretax margin -7.0% 1.6% -5.6%
Net margin -6.4% 0.7% -4.3%
FCF margin 40.0% 5.3% -0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 27.8% 5.4% 15.5%
Return on equity -26.5% – -94.5%
Return on assets -2.8% 0.5% -2.1%
Return on invested capital 2.6% – 1.7%
Return on capital employed 2.5% 3.3% 1.0%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.4x 8.1x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 0.0% 1.9% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMANUMSGSPLAY
Debt / assets 44.5% 16.8% 36.6%
Debt / equity 4.6x -1.0x 17.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.4x 2.9x 4.5x
Debt / FCF 2.5x 4.2x -94.2x
Liabilities / assets 90.3% 117.1% 97.9%
Equity / assets 9.7% -17.1% 2.1%
Interest coverage 0.5x 1.4x 0.2x
Current ratio 0.3x 0.5x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 0.97 3.53 0.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMANUMSGSPLAY
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusMANUMSGSPLAY
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.18FY2027 $-1.03FY2027 $-1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -421.9%FY2027 –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.07BFY2027 $1.06BFY2027 $2.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +19.6%FY2027 -7.9%FY2027 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -5.1% +1.5% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMANUMSGSPLAY
Held by institutions 17.1% 100.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 125 463 171
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +10.3% +2.6%
Institutions buying 63 247 92
Institutions selling 30 136 56
Buyers to sellers 2.10 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.

MANUMSGSPLAY
MANU 1.00 0.31 0.18
MSGS 0.31 1.00 0.18
PLAY 0.18 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MANU, MSGS and PLAY?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Manchester United (MANU) $3.61B, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) $9.26B, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) $246.39M.

Which company is growing faster?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Manchester United (MANU) +5.5%, 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 (Manchester United (MANU) -6.4%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 0.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -4.3%). On return on invested capital, Manchester United (MANU) leads (Manchester United (MANU) 2.6%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 1.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) returned the most: Manchester United (MANU) +13.8%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +68.6%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -59.5%. Over five years, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) compounded fastest (Manchester United (MANU) +5.0%/yr, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +15.9%/yr, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -28.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) has been the steadiest (Manchester United (MANU) 33.6%, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 29.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 76.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MANU, 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 6. 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.