Bear of the Day: Dave & Buster's (PLAY)

I last profiled Dave & Buster's (PLAY) as the Bear of the Day in late May when shares were still trading above $10.

And it was the third time in 3 years I've done so as the Zacks Rank has kept pegging this stock with falling EPS estimates.

This week's earnings report didn't bring any better news and shares dropped below $7.50 on heavy volume for the first time since the 2020 Covid collapse.

After another big earnings miss -- loss of $0.27 vs expectations of $0.19 profit -- analysts slashed their estimates once again. This year's Zacks EPS consensus fell from -$1.10 to -$1.38 and next year was dropped from -$1.14 to -$1.43.

This report represents an earnings surprise of -242.11%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this owner of two chains of restaurants and arcades -- including 186 Dave & Buster's and 66 Main Event stores -- would post EPS of $0.37 when it actually produced EPS of $0.22, delivering a negative surprise of -40.54%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates just once.

Dave & Buster's, which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Restaurants industry, posted revenues of $544.1 million for the quarter ended July 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.06%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $557.4 million. The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates over the last four quarters.

You can learn more about key "quick service restaurant" (QSR) metrics for the company in this article...

Compared to Estimates, Dave & Buster's (PLAY) Q2 Earnings: A Look at Key Metrics

I'll close with the last two paragraphs from my May report...

My thesis: the earnings decline continues as new QSR, health-focused, and entertainment options multiply in a vibrant economy.

Bottom line: PLAY might be a fun place to take the family or watch a ball game with friends, but there's no joy for your money here. The Zacks Rank will let you know when it's time to play the stock again.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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