MSGS vs LUCK vs PLAY Stock Comparison

Madison Square Garden Sports, Lucky Strike Entertainment and Dave & Buster's Entertainment Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Madison Square Garden Sports leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Madison Square Garden Sports 7, Lucky Strike Entertainment 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSGSLUCKPLAYLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.29B $565.66M $245.41M MSGS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 1,197x -12.2x -2.8x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.0% +3.7% -1.5% MSGS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 0.7% -3.7% -4.3% MSGS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 24.1% 1.7% LUCK
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 6.5x 4.5x MSGS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +71.9% -50.3% -60.8% MSGS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.4%/yr -16.0%/yr -28.9%/yr MSGS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.7% 54.1% 76.3% MSGS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 43/100 33/100 LUCK

Percentile Scorecard

MSGSLUCKPLAY

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

AxisMSGSLUCKPLAY
Valuation 16 #37 of 44 58 #19 of 44 72 #13 of 44
Growth 45 #24 of 43 12 #38 of 43 7 #40 of 43
Profitability 44 #24 of 42 49 #22 of 42 42 #25 of 42
Financial Health 40 #29 of 48 9 #44 of 48 11 #43 of 48
Shareholder Returns – 89 #4 of 28 –
Overall 36 43 33
  • MSGS ranked among 48 companies in Gaming and Leisure
  • LUCK 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

PeriodMSGSLUCKPLAYSPY
1 month -1.6%-20.6%+2.2% -1.0%
3 months -2.0%-39.1%-29.5% +2.9%
6 months +16.7%-42.1%-43.6% +6.4%
Year to date +50.3%-50.5%-57.1% +11.4%
1 year +71.9%-50.3%-60.8% +13.1%
3 years +128.3%-61.8%-80.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +31.7%-27.5%-41.8% +21.5%
5 years +113.6%-58.2%-81.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +16.4%-16.0%-28.9% +10.9%
10 years +131.2%—-83.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.7%—-16.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureMSGSLUCKPLAYSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.7%54.1%76.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.8%58.8%80.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.531.021.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.43-0.93-0.80 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -32.0%-75.5%-90.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.6%-55.8%-67.1% -2.5%
52-week high $416.24$9.49$21.17 $779.14
52-week low $212.91$4.19$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.

MultipleMSGSLUCKPLAY
P/E now vs peer median 1,210xmedian 17.0x -12.3xmedian 17.0x -2.7xmedian 17.0x
P/S now vs peer median 8.1xmedian 1.9x 0.5xmedian 1.9x 0.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 295.1xmedian 10.5x 8.6xmedian 10.5x 5.2xmedian 10.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 152.9xmedian 11.2x -58.5xmedian 11.2x -15.2xmedian 11.2x
P/B now vs peer median -35.6xmedian 2.5x -1.4xmedian 2.5x 2.8xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median -26.61median 0.54 0.27median 0.54 0.07median 0.54

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 monthsMSGSLUCKPLAY
Revenue $1.15B $1.25B $2.08B
Gross profit $320.12M $844.13M $1.78B
Operating income $28.87M $136.79M $36.20M
Net income $7.76M -$35.78M -$88.60M
Free cash flow $61.26M -$9.78M -$16.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.32 $-0.34 $-2.55
Cash & equivalents $164.51M – $16.00M
Total debt $1.10B $1.78B $1.51B
Shares (diluted) 24.25M 136.63M 34.81M
Enterprise value $8.89B $565.66M $179.61M

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
MetricMSGSLUCKPLAY
P/E 1,210x -12.3x -2.7x
P/FCF 152.9x -58.5x -15.2x
P/Operating cash flow 149.4x 5.5x 0.8x
P/S 8.1x 0.5x 0.1x
P/B -35.6x -1.4x 2.8x
P/Tangible book -25.5x -1.3x -2.7x
EV/EBITDA 295.1x 8.6x 5.2x
EV/EBIT 327.6x 17.2x 47.9x
EV/Revenue 8.2x 1.9x 0.8x
EV/FCF 154.4x -240.6x -108.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 150.9x 22.7x 5.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -26.61 0.27 0.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSGSLUCKPLAY
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.0% 3.7% -1.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.1% 5.6% -1.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.7% 2.2% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 35.1% -0.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 94.9% -0.3% -78.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -30.3% -12.0% -50.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 134.6% -257.0% -1,013%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -45.2% -34.6% -38.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 134.3% -154.5% -1,022%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -45.5% -46.2% -41.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -31.6% -41.4% 38.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -25.7% -21.9% -7.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -30.4% -127.1% 94.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.0% -28.9% -28.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSGSLUCKPLAY
Gross margin 27.7% 67.8% 85.4%
EBITDA margin 2.8% 22.0% 15.9%
Operating margin 2.5% 11.0% 1.7%
Pretax margin 1.6% -3.2% -5.6%
Net margin 0.7% -3.7% -4.3%
FCF margin 5.3% -0.8% -0.8%
Operating cash flow margin 5.4% 8.3% 15.5%
Return on equity – – -94.5%
Return on assets 0.5% -1.1% -2.1%
Return on invested capital – 24.1% 1.7%
Return on capital employed 3.3% 4.5% 1.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 8.1x -2.9x -3.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.9% 1.0% 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSGSLUCKPLAY
Debt / assets 16.8% 55.2% 36.6%
Debt / equity -1.0x -4.5x 17.2x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 6.5x 4.5x
Debt / FCF 4.2x -182.1x -94.2x
Liabilities / assets 117.1% 112.3% 97.9%
Equity / assets -17.1% -12.3% 2.1%
Interest coverage 1.4x – 0.2x
Current ratio 0.5x 0.5x 0.3x
Quick ratio 0.4x – 0.1x
Cash ratio 0.3x – 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.56 0.43 0.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSGSLUCKPLAY
Dividend yield – 5.7% –
Net buyback yield – 6.2% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% 11.9% 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.

ConsensusMSGSLUCKPLAY
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.82FY2027 $-0.03FY2027 $-1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -356.3%FY2027 – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.06BFY2027 $1.22BFY2027 $2.03BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -7.9%FY2027 -2.1%FY2027 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.5% +14.8% -0.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSGSLUCKPLAY
Held by institutions 100.0% 50.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 463 55 171
Change in shares held, QoQ +10.3% -0.8% +2.6%
Institutions buying 247 24 92
Institutions selling 136 20 56
Buyers to sellers 1.82 1.20 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.

MSGSLUCKPLAY
MSGS 1.00 0.22 0.18
LUCK 0.22 1.00 0.22
PLAY 0.18 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSGS, LUCK and PLAY?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) $9.29B, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) $565.66M, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) $245.41M.

Which company is growing faster?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +11.0%, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) +3.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -1.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) has the highest net margin (Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 0.7%, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) -3.7%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -4.3%). On return on invested capital, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) leads (Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) 24.1%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 1.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) returned the most: Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +71.9%, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) -50.3%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -60.8%. Over five years, Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) compounded fastest (Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) +16.4%/yr, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) -16.0%/yr, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) -28.9%/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 (Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) 29.7%, Lucky Strike Entertainment (LUCK) 54.1%, Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) 76.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MSGS, LUCK 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 7. 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.