MeritValue

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.

BNEDdata completeness 100%13 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. earns about -10% on invested capital, and has bought back 33% of its shares over 5 years. The cash-flow models don't apply cleanly here — the ledger says why below.Whether it’s worth owning at today’s price is the last question — and yours to answer, below.

i. The business — what you’d actually own
FigureFY 2022FY 2023FY 2024FY 2025FY 2026
Revenue$1.5B1$1.54B2$1.43B3$1.46B4$1.56B4
Net income−$68.9M5−$101.9M6−$75.7M7−$65.8M8$16.9M8
Operating cash flow$1.16M9$91.7M10−$5.12M11−$85.4M12$50.1M12
Capital expenditure$33.6M13$25.1M14$14.1M15$12.9M16$16.2M16
Free cash flow (derived)−$32.4M9$66.6M10−$19.2M11−$98.3M12$33.9M12
Total debt$225.7M17$182.2M18$196.3M19$103.1M20$71M20
Cash & equivalents$8.8M21$14.2M22$10.5M23$9.06M24$8.42M24
Diluted shares51.8M2.6M2.7M26.3M34.6M

Superscripts are receipts. Each links to the SEC filing the number came from (full list at the bottom).

ii. Your slice — ownership made literal
If you owned
shares
Net assets behind them
$85.06
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
$4.87
Free cash flow it threw off
$9.78
Debt you’d be carrying
$20.51

10 shares is a claim on $85.06 of net worth that earned you $4.87 and generated $9.78 of cash last year, against $20.51 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
-10% avg · 5y
FY22 -14%FY23 -16%FY24 -10%FY25 -13%FY26 5%

It earned an average -10% on invested capital over 5 years. Compare that to what it costs to fund the business.

seeing a moat in the numbers →
Management signal · capital allocation
−33% shares · 5y

Share count is down 33% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has fallen 69% — deleveraging.

reading capital allocation →

Signals, not verdicts — read from the filings above. Numbers don’t prove a moat; they show its footprint. You decide.

iv. What it’s worth — engine v0.1.0
DCF · Growth Exit 10Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
DCF · Growth Exit 5Y
not applicable
3y-median FCF non-positive — growth-exit DCF not applicable (see EPV)
Earnings Power Value
not applicable
normalized (5y-median) earnings non-positive — EPV undefined
Graham Number
$9.68
assumptions (1)
  • grahamMultiplier2250.0%

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (Revenues)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (Revenues)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (NetIncomeLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (NetIncomeLoss)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (NetIncomeLoss)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (LongTermDebt)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (LongTermDebt)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (LongTermDebt)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (LongTermDebt)
  21. 10-K · period ending 2022-04-30 · accession 0001634117-23-000032 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  22. 10-K · period ending 2023-04-29 · accession 0001634117-24-000048 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  23. 10-K · period ending 2024-04-27 · accession 0001634117-25-000038 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  24. 10-K · period ending 2025-05-03 · accession 0001634117-26-000070 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)