MeritValue

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.

PLAYdata completeness 100%14 fiscal years on file
The thesis, from the filings

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. earns about 6% on invested capital, and has bought back 30% of its shares over 5 years. The applicable estimate puts fair value near $32.49 a share.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$1.3B1$1.96B2$2.21B3$2.13B3$2.1B3
Net income$108.7M4$137.1M5$126.9M6$58.3M6−$48.7M6
Operating cash flow$283.2M7$444.4M8$364.2M9$312.3M9$290.8M9
Capital expenditure$92.2M10$234.2M11$330.2M12$530.2M12$391.4M12
Free cash flow (derived)$191M7$210.2M8$34M9−$217.9M9−$100.6M9
Total debt$871.4M13$2.52B14$2.63B15$3.01B16$3.07B16
Cash & equivalents$25.9M17$181.6M18$37.3M19$6.9M20$16.6M20
Diluted shares49.3M49.2M44.1M40.0M34.7M

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
$26.31
your share of equity
Profit it earned you last year
−$14.05
Free cash flow it threw off
−$29.02
Debt you’d be carrying
$886.73

10 shares is a claim on $26.31 of net worth that earned you −$14.05 and generated −$29.02 of cash last year, against $886.73 of debt.

iii. Is this a good business?
Moat signal · return on invested capital
6% avg · 5y
FY22 14%FY23 8%FY24 8%FY25 2%FY26 -2%

It earned an average 6% 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
−30% shares · 5y

Share count is down 30% over 5 years — management has been buying back stock, quietly handing owners a bigger slice. Total debt has risen 253% over the same window.

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
$32.49
assumptions (8)
  • riskFreeRate4.7%
  • equityRiskPremium5.0%
  • beta100.0%
  • equityWeight85.0%
  • costOfDebtSpread1.5%
  • taxRate21.0%
  • normalizedEarnings$108.7M
  • growthAssumed0.0%
Graham Number
not applicable
diluted EPS missing or non-positive — Graham Number undefined

Different models answer different questions — which to trust when →

Sources — the receipts
  1. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  2. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  3. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (RevenueFromContractWithCustomerExcludingAssessedTax)
  4. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (ProfitLoss)
  5. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (ProfitLoss)
  6. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (NetIncomeLoss)
  7. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  8. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  9. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities)
  10. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  11. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  12. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment)
  13. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-23-009540 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  14. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  15. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  16. 10-K · period ending 2025-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (LongTermDebtNoncurrent)
  17. 10-K · period ending 2022-01-30 · accession 0001628280-23-009540 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  18. 10-K · period ending 2023-01-29 · accession 0001628280-24-014369 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  19. 10-K · period ending 2024-02-04 · accession 0001628280-25-016941 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)
  20. 10-K · period ending 2025-02-04 · accession 0001525769-26-000008 (CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue)