Dave & Buster's stock reports a USD 12.5 million Q2 loss

Published on 09/30/2026 at 06:35 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Dave & Buster's stock faces a USD 12.5 million fiscal Q2 loss reported on September 14, 2026. UBS cut its target to USD 9.00 as margins weakened.

PLAY, US2383371091, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment (ISIN US2383371091) reported a USD 12.5 million GAAP net loss for fiscal second-quarter 2026, compared with USD 11.4 million of net income a year earlier, according to Dave & Buster's on September 14, 2026. The result keeps profitability at the center of the PLAY stock story.

Q2 revenue falls 2.4 percent

Revenue fell 2.4 percent year over year to USD 544.1 million in the quarter ended August 4, 2026, while comparable-store sales declined 2.9 percent, according to Dave & Buster's. The comparison is significant because the prior-year quarter produced USD 557.4 million in revenue and USD 11.4 million in net income.

Adjusted diluted EPS was a loss of USD 0.27, versus adjusted diluted EPS of USD 0.40 in fiscal Q2 2025. The earnings gap was wider than the sales decline, making cost control and guest traffic the key operating tests for the next report.

Margins contract as cash flow improves

Adjusted EBITDA dropped to USD 98.9 million from USD 129.8 million year over year, cutting the margin to 18.2 percent from 23.3 percent, according to Dave & Buster's. That 5.1 percentage point margin contraction outweighed the cash-flow improvement in the broader half-year picture.

Adjusted free cash flow for the six months ended August 4, 2026 reached USD 19.5 million, compared with negative USD 36.5 million in the prior-year period. The company also reported USD 492.1 million of available liquidity, giving management room to fund remodels and operating initiatives while it works to restore sales growth.

Analysts lower valuation expectations

According to MarketBeat, UBS cut its price target from USD 12.00 to USD 9.00 and assigned a neutral rating on September 15, 2026. The same report said Zacks Research lowered its Q1 2028 EPS estimate to USD 0.23 from USD 0.34, while maintaining a Hold rating.

Nasdaq quote stays near yearly low

PLAY was last at USD 6.49 on the Nasdaq on September 29, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. EDT, versus a prior close of USD 6.41. The quote was USD 0.11 above the 52-week low of USD 6.38 and below the 52-week high of USD 22.10, while market capitalization stood at USD 225.8 million on September 29, 2026.