BABA
Alibaba Group Holding Limited
BABA has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
BNED
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.
BNED has a slight edge over BABA overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
BABA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak | |
| Healthy |
BABA's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
BNED Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
BNED's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue, profitability and cash flow are stable.
BABA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $69.66 | -26% |
| Fair | 20x | $86.59 | -8.2% |
| Current | 21x | $94.36 | — |
| Expensive | 26x | $115 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BABA's PE is 21x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
BNED PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 18x | $11.71 | -7.8% |
| Current | 19x | $12.70 | — |
| Fair | 20x | $13.51 | +6.4% |
| Expensive | 26x | $16.96 | +34% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
BNED has the edge over BABA in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
BABA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for BABA, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
BNED Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for BNED to show an outlook.
BABA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $4.42 | -52% |
| Q1 2026 | $6.57 | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.79 | -22% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.85 | +49% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.27 | +116% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.06 | +71% |
| Q4 2024 | $7.47 | +24% |
| Q3 2024 | $5.26 | -35% |
BABA has the edge over BNED on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
BNED Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $0.66 | -25% |
| Q2 2026 | $0.49 | +$6.43 |
| Q1 2024 | -$156.00 | -$31.00 |
| Q4 2023 | -$186.00 | -$38.00 |
| Q3 2023 | -$190.00 | -$41.00 |
| Q2 2023 | -$195.00 | -$61.00 |
| Q1 2023 | -$125.00 | +$79.00 |
| Q4 2022 | -$148.00 | +$81.00 |
BNED's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.66 over the past year, against $0.88 in mid-2025.
BABA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $40.2B | +8.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $36.5B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $42.7B | +1.7% |
| Q3 2025 | $37.2B | +4.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $37.2B | +1.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $35.5B | +6.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $42B | +7.6% |
| Q3 2024 | $35.5B | +5.2% |
BABA has the edge over BNED on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 7.2% | -6.9 points |
| Q1 2026 | -0.3% | -12 points |
| Q4 2025 | 7.1% | -7.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 2.2% | -13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 14% | -0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 12% | +5.4 points |
| Q4 2024 | 15% | +6.1 points |
| Q3 2024 | 15% | 0 points |
BABA has the edge over BNED on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
BNED Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $290.6M | +0.8% |
| Q2 2026 | $267.1M | -5.2% |
| Q1 2026 | $515.1M | +10% |
| Q4 2025 | $644.4M | +7% |
| Q3 2025 | $288.2M | +9.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $281.8M | +19% |
| Q1 2025 | $466.3M | +2.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $602.1M | -1.4% |
BNED's revenue has picked up after three years of holding roughly level: $291M last quarter, about level with the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -5.9% | +2.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 1.6% | +5.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 2.8% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 6.3% | -3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -8% | +27 points |
| Q2 2025 | -4% | +3.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 4.9% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2024 | 9.3% | +3.5 points |
BNED's operating margin was −5.9% last quarter, up 2.1 points from the same quarter a year ago.
BABA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$6.7B | -$4.1B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.7B | +$1.5B |
| Q4 2025 | $1B | -90% |
| Q3 2025 | -$3.2B | -254% |
| Q2 2025 | -$2.7B | -182% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.2B | -12231% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2024 | $2.1B | -62% |
BABA's free cash flow has turned negative after years in the green: −$11.6B over the past year.
BNED Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -$56.4M | +$14.9M |
| Q2 2026 | $76.4M | +54% |
| Q1 2026 | -$33.1M | +$11.6M |
| Q4 2025 | $61.9M | +40% |
| Q3 2025 | -$71.3M | +$76.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $49.5M | -37% |
| Q1 2025 | -$44.7M | -$5.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $44.4M | -35% |
BNED has the edge over BABA on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
BABA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2024 | -0.2x | Net Cash |
BABA has the edge over BNED on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
BNED Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.6x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 2.4x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q3 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 6.8x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 13.4x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 10.0x | High |
BNED's net debt is about 1.6 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 2.1 years a year ago.
BABA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 12.7 | Oversold |
BABA's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 13 (oversold).
BNED Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 55.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 62.1 | Neutral |
BNED's weekly RSI is 56 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 62 (neutral).
BABA PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BABA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 18x | 19% above |
| PE % | 60 | 47 | 13 pts above |
BABA is trading at 21x earnings, a 19% premium to the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
BNED PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BNED | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 18x | 6.8% above |
BNED has the edge over BABA on valuation relative to its sector.
BABA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $104.7 | 9.9% below |
| 20 week MA | $111.1 | 15% below |
| 50 week MA | $128.0 | 26% below |
| 100 week MA | $127.7 | 26% below |
| 200 week MA | $106.4 | 11% below |
BABA is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 11% below its 200-week average.
BNED Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.5 | 1.6% above |
| 20 week MA | $12.3 | 3.4% above |
| 50 week MA | $10.6 | 20% above |
| 100 week MA | $10.2 | 24% above |
| 200 week MA | $50.4 | 75% below |
BNED has the edge over BABA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
BABA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $215.5 | $222.0 | +3% |
| 2021 | $222.0 | $118.7 | -47% |
| 2022 | $118.7 | $85.7 | -28% |
| 2023 | $85.7 | $77.5 | -9.5% |
| 2024 | $77.5 | $85.1 | +9.7% |
| 2025 | $85.1 | $152.2 | +79% |
| 2026 YTD | $152.2 | $94.4 | -38% |
BABA has finished lower in three of the last six years. It's down 38% so far in 2026.
BNED Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $417.0 | $508.0 | +22% |
| 2021 | $508.0 | $669.0 | +32% |
| 2022 | $669.0 | $159.0 | -76% |
| 2023 | $159.0 | $149.0 | -6.3% |
| 2024 | $149.0 | $10.3 | -93% |
| 2025 | $10.3 | $9.65 | -6.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $9.65 | $12.7 | +32% |
BNED has the edge over BABA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.