BNED
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.
BNED has a slight edge over F overall, supported by stronger fundamentals and stronger modeled upside.
F
Ford Motor Company
F has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
BNED Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy |
BNED's balance sheet is currently healthy, and its revenue, profitability and cash flow are stable.
F Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Under pressure | |
| Strong |
F's balance sheet is currently strong, and its revenue is stable, but its profitability and cash flow are under pressure.
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's PE is 19x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
F PE Valuation
F has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
BNED Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for BNED to show an outlook.
F Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| Low |
Analysts expect F's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
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 has the edge over F on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
F Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.78 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$1.97 | -270% |
| Q2 2026 | -$1.87 | -340% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.55 | -224% |
| Q4 2025 | -$2.06 | -241% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.16 | +32% |
| Q2 2025 | $0.78 | -19% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.25 | +29% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.46 | +35% |
F has swung to a loss: it lost $1.97 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
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 has the edge over F on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
F Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $49.5B | -2% |
| Q2 2026 | $48.3B | -3.8% |
| Q1 2026 | $43.3B | +6.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $45.9B | -4.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $50.5B | +9.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $50.2B | +5% |
| Q1 2025 | $40.7B | -5% |
| Q4 2024 | $48.2B | +4.9% |
F's revenue grew through 2023 and has held roughly level since: $49.5B last quarter, down 2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.9% | -0.1 points |
| Q2 2026 | 1.3% | +0.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 5.4% | +4.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | -25% | -28 points |
| Q3 2025 | 3.1% | +1.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 1% | -2.9 points |
| Q1 2025 | 0.8% | -2.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.5% | +3.1 points |
F has the edge over BNED on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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's free cash flow has turned positive after six years mostly in the red: $49M over the past year.
F Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.1B | -40% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | -54% |
| Q1 2026 | -$1.1B | -157% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.1B | +108% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.3B | +50% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.2B | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.9B | +$2.6B |
| Q4 2024 | $530M | +169% |
F still generates free cash flow, though less than at its 2020 peak: $5.1B over the past year.
BNED Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -82.4K shares |
| 1 year | +1.4% | +478K shares |
| 3 years | +6464% | +34M shares |
| 5 years | +6852% | +34M shares |
| Available history | +6982% | +34M shares |
BNED has 35M diluted shares, up 1.4% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | — |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $1,000 |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | $4,000 |
F Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +2.2% | +89M shares |
| 1 year | +0.7% | +28M shares |
| 3 years | +0.6% | +26M shares |
| 5 years | +1% | +40M shares |
| Available history | +1.8% | +72M shares |
F has the edge over BNED on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $311M |
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | $150M |
F spent $311M buying back its own shares over the past year, up 107% from the year before.
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.
F Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -2.5x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -2.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -3.4x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -2.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
F has the edge over BNED on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
F Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 41.5 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 19.6 | Oversold |
F's weekly RSI is 41 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 20 (oversold).
BNED PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | BNED | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 18x | 6.8% above |
BNED is trading at 19x earnings, in line with the Consumer Cyclical sector's median of 18x, though its earnings don't support one.
F PE vs Consumer Cyclical Sector
| Metric | F | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 18x | — |
F has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
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 F on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
F Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $12.2 | 2.5% below |
| 20 week MA | $13.3 | 11% below |
| 50 week MA | $13.4 | 11% below |
| 100 week MA | $12.1 | 2% below |
| 200 week MA | $12.1 | 1.4% below |
F is in a downtrend: it's below all five of its weekly moving averages, and 1.4% below its 200-week average.
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 F on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
F Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $9.36 | $8.86 | -5.3% |
| 2021 | $8.86 | $20.3 | +129% |
| 2022 | $20.3 | $11.4 | -44% |
| 2023 | $11.4 | $12.2 | +7.3% |
| 2024 | $12.2 | $10.0 | -18% |
| 2025 | $10.0 | $13.3 | +33% |
| 2026 YTD | $13.3 | $11.9 | -11% |
F's yearly returns have swung widely, from +129% in 2021 to −44% in 2022. It's down 11% so far in 2026.