Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) Key Metrics
BNED valuation today
Trailing 12 months · as of October 17, 2026- Market cap
- $448.9M
- Enterprise value
- $654.0M
- P/E (TTM)
- 20.2
- Forward P/E
- 10.6
- PEG ratio
- 1.10
- Price / sales
- 0.3 10-yr median 3.1
- Price / book
- 1.4 10-yr median 21.5
- EV / EBITDA
- 9.3 10-yr median 188.9
- Dividend yield
- 2.47% $0.32 a year
- Beta
- 1.46
BNED key metrics, FY2017–FY2026
Fiscal year ended April 30, 2026 · U.S. dollarsBNED valuation Price multiples at each fiscal year-end price.
BNED returns How much profit the business earns on the capital it uses.
BNED per-share figures Results divided by the shares outstanding at year-end.
BNED financial health Debt, liquidity and how easily interest is covered.
BNED efficiency & capital use Working capital cycle and where the cash goes.
BNED valuation history
BNED returns on capital
Net income (ROE, ROA) or after-tax operating income (ROIC) divided by the average of the opening and closing balance.
BNED debt vs cash
Debt includes short- and long-term borrowings and, where reported, lease liabilities.
BNED cash returned to shareholders
BNED price vs earnings per share
BNED key metrics
FY2017–FY2026| FY2026 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 | FY2019 | FY2018 | FY2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valuation | ||||||||||
| Market capitalization | $341.3M | $358.6M | $540.4M | $3.27B | $6.30B | $15.72B | $3.44B | $8.14B | $13.45B | $19.47B |
| Enterprise value | $556.4M | $452.6M | $943.9M | $3.73B | $6.83B | $16.16B | $3.88B | $8.26B | $13.63B | $19.61B |
| P/E ratio | 20.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Price / sales | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 2.1 | 4.2 | 11.2 | 1.9 | 4.0 | 6.1 | 10.4 |
| Price / book | 1.2 | 1.3 | 6.7 | 25.0 | 27.6 | 53.6 | 8.2 | 18.1 | 28.7 | 27.3 |
| Price / free cash flow | 10.1 | — | — | 49.2 | — | — | — | 108.0 | 780.4 | 584.5 |
| Price / operating cash flow | 6.8 | — | — | 35.7 | — | 477.9 | — | 66.8 | 224.0 | 286.4 |
| EV / sales | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 11.5 | 2.1 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 10.5 |
| EV / EBITDA | 8.5 | — | — | — | — | — | 167.7 | 210.0 | — | 293.3 |
| EV / free cash flow | 16.4 | — | — | 56.0 | — | — | — | 109.5 | 790.9 | 588.7 |
| Earnings yield | 4.9% | −18.4% | −14.0% | −3.1% | −1.1% | −0.9% | −1.1% | −0.3% | −1.9% | 0.0% |
| Free cash flow yield | 9.9% | −27.4% | −3.6% | 2.0% | −0.5% | −0.0% | −1.3% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Dividend yield | — | — | — | — | 0.0% | 4.6% | — | — | — | — |
| Shareholder yield (dividends + buybacks) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 4.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Share price at fiscal year-end | $9.86 | $10.53 | $20.30 | $156.00 | $304.00 | $791.00 | $179.00 | $430.00 | $719.00 | $1,041.00 |
| Per share | ||||||||||
| Revenue per share | $49.54 | $47.28 | $58.87 | $73.55 | $72.19 | $70.79 | $96.38 | $107.53 | $117.81 | $100.21 |
| Earnings per share | $0.49 | −$1.93 | −$2.85 | −$4.85 | −$3.32 | −$7.04 | −$1.99 | −$1.29 | −$13.50 | $0.29 |
| Operating cash flow per share | $1.45 | −$2.51 | −$0.19 | $4.37 | $0.06 | $1.66 | −$0.45 | $6.44 | $3.21 | $3.63 |
| Free cash flow per share | $0.98 | −$2.89 | −$0.72 | $3.17 | −$1.57 | −$0.22 | −$2.34 | $3.98 | $0.92 | $1.78 |
| Cash per share | $0.24 | $0.27 | $0.39 | $0.68 | $0.42 | $0.40 | $0.43 | $0.74 | $0.86 | $1.02 |
| Book value per share | $8.51 | $7.99 | $3.02 | $6.23 | $11.02 | $14.75 | $21.75 | $23.81 | $25.02 | $38.16 |
| Tangible book value per share | $6.83 | $5.70 | −$0.52 | $0.96 | $4.67 | $6.92 | $12.39 | $13.26 | $10.67 | $9.32 |
| Dividends per share | — | — | — | — | $0.01 | $36.37 | — | — | — | — |
| Capex per share | $0.47 | $0.38 | $0.53 | $1.20 | $1.62 | $1.87 | $1.88 | $2.45 | $2.29 | $1.85 |
| Debt per share | $6.46 | $3.03 | $15.55 | $22.25 | $26.18 | $22.90 | $23.61 | $7.06 | $10.50 | $8.53 |
| Shares outstanding | 34.6M | 34.1M | 26.6M | 21.0M | 20.7M | 19.9M | 19.2M | 18.9M | 18.7M | 18.7M |
| Change in shares outstanding | +1.6% | +27.9% | +26.9% | +1.3% | +4.3% | +3.4% | +1.5% | +1.2% | 0.0% | +0.6% |
| Returns & profitability | ||||||||||
| Return on equity (ROE) | 6.0% | −37.3% | −71.7% | −56.7% | −26.4% | −39.3% | −8.8% | −5.3% | −42.7% | 0.8% |
| Return on invested capital (ROIC) | 8.2% | 3.0% | −5.0% | −7.8% | −6.4% | −16.6% | −4.7% | −3.6% | −27.6% | 0.9% |
| Return on assets (ROA) | 2.2% | −7.7% | −8.0% | −9.9% | −6.5% | −12.8% | −3.6% | −2.5% | −21.6% | 0.5% |
| Return on tangible assets | 2.5% | −9.2% | −9.3% | −11.7% | −7.3% | −16.0% | −3.9% | −3.3% | −32.8% | 0.7% |
| Free cash flow margin | 2.0% | −6.1% | −1.2% | 4.3% | −2.2% | −0.3% | −2.4% | 3.7% | 0.8% | 1.8% |
| Income quality (OCF / net income) | 2.97 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12.68 |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Total debt | $223.5M | $103.1M | $413.9M | $466.9M | $542.4M | $454.9M | $453.4M | $133.5M | $196.4M | $159.6M |
| Cash & short-term investments | $8.4M | $9.1M | $10.5M | $14.2M | $8.8M | $8.0M | $8.2M | $14.0M | $16.1M | $19.0M |
| Net debt | $215.1M | $94.0M | $403.5M | $452.7M | $533.6M | $446.9M | $445.2M | $119.5M | $180.3M | $140.6M |
| Debt / equity | 0.76 | 0.38 | 5.15 | 3.57 | 2.38 | 1.55 | 1.09 | 0.30 | 0.42 | 0.22 |
| Debt / assets | 0.30 | 0.13 | 0.45 | 0.48 | 0.51 | 0.44 | 0.39 | 0.14 | 0.19 | 0.12 |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.27 | — | — | — | — | — | 19.22 | 3.04 | — | 2.10 |
| Current ratio | 1.71 | 1.67 | 1.10 | 1.16 | 1.28 | 1.34 | 1.44 | 1.45 | 1.50 | 1.46 |
| Quick ratio | 0.56 | 0.50 | 0.31 | 0.40 | 0.50 | 0.51 | 0.28 | 0.30 | 0.31 | 0.28 |
| Interest coverage | 2.7 | 0.9 | -1.2 | -3.3 | -6.0 | -20.9 | -5.7 | -2.8 | -25.5 | 3.9 |
| Working capital | $200.9M | $186.2M | $46.1M | $74.9M | $116.3M | $127.2M | $178.2M | $182.8M | $205.9M | $189.4M |
| Invested capital | $509.5M | $366.2M | $483.9M | $583.4M | $762.0M | $739.9M | $862.9M | $570.1M | $648.2M | $854.3M |
| Tangible asset value | $236.3M | $193.9M | −$13.8M | $20.1M | $96.7M | $137.4M | $237.9M | $250.9M | $199.6M | $174.4M |
| Net current asset value | $39.0M | −$52.7M | −$308.7M | −$313.0M | −$311.5M | −$237.3M | −$153.8M | $95.8M | $48.1M | $16.5M |
| Graham number | $9.66 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $15.69 |
| Graham net-net per share | −$5.42 | −$8.95 | −$21.03 | −$28.19 | −$27.63 | −$24.49 | −$22.29 | −$9.46 | −$12.91 | −$14.37 |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Dividends paid | — | — | — | — | $256,000 | $722.6M | — | — | — | — |
| Share buybacks (net) | $5,000 | $5,000 | $176,000 | $864,000 | $2.4M | $894,000 | $1.3M | $2.0M | $1.6M | $9.4M |
| Dividends + buybacks / free cash flow | 0.0% | — | — | 1.3% | — | — | — | 2.6% | 9.5% | 28.2% |
| Capex / revenue | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 2.6% | 2.0% | 2.3% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
| Capex / operating cash flow | 32.4% | — | — | 27.4% | 2,894.7% | 113.2% | — | 38.1% | 71.3% | 51.0% |
| Capex / depreciation | 0.49 | 0.34 | 0.35 | 0.59 | 0.79 | 0.64 | 0.55 | 0.69 | 0.65 | 0.65 |
| Stock-based compensation / revenue | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| SG&A / revenue | 16.9% | 17.6% | 19.9% | 23.2% | 23.7% | 24.1% | 21.9% | 20.8% | 19.7% | 20.2% |
| Efficiency | ||||||||||
| Days sales outstanding | 18.2 | 17.3 | 21.9 | 26.5 | 30.7 | 27.0 | 17.9 | 16.4 | 13.6 | 12.1 |
| Days of inventory on hand | 88.1 | 100.2 | 108.4 | 103.5 | 100.2 | 120.9 | 121.4 | 116.1 | 108.4 | 109.3 |
| Days payables outstanding | 38.5 | 64.3 | 84.7 | 68.9 | 50.7 | 43.6 | 42.8 | 45.4 | 42.2 | 44.5 |
| Cash conversion cycle (days) | 67.8 | 53.2 | 45.5 | 61.1 | 80.3 | 104.3 | 96.5 | 87.1 | 79.8 | 76.9 |
| Receivables turnover | 20.08 | 21.12 | 16.70 | 13.79 | 11.88 | 13.51 | 20.34 | 22.31 | 26.91 | 30.19 |
| Payables turnover | 9.48 | 5.68 | 4.31 | 5.30 | 7.20 | 8.36 | 8.52 | 8.04 | 8.65 | 8.21 |
| Inventory turnover | 4.14 | 3.64 | 3.37 | 3.53 | 3.64 | 3.02 | 3.01 | 3.14 | 3.37 | 3.34 |
| Asset turnover | 2.24 | 1.89 | 1.66 | 1.50 | 1.42 | 1.29 | 1.76 | 2.05 | 1.88 | 1.58 |
| Average receivables | $85.4M | $76.2M | $93.9M | $111.9M | $125.9M | $104.1M | $91.0M | $91.2M | $81.9M | $62.1M |
| Average payables | $142.2M | $224.0M | $283.5M | $225.3M | $160.1M | $140.6M | $165.2M | $187.4M | $190.3M | $172.5M |
| Average inventory | $325.7M | $349.2M | $362.8M | $338.4M | $316.6M | $389.7M | $468.5M | $479.3M | $489.1M | $423.7M |
| Intangibles / total assets | 7.9% | 9.9% | 10.4% | 11.3% | 12.3% | 15.1% | 15.5% | 21.1% | 25.8% | 41.5% |
Computed from BNED's annual financial statements (latest annual report filed July 9, 2026) and the closing share price on each fiscal year-end, adjusted for stock splits. Figures in U.S. dollars; data from EODHD. Averages use the opening and closing balance of each year.
BNED valuation and financial ratios
At the end of fiscal 2026 (April 30, 2026), Barnes & Noble Education traded at 20.2 times earnings. Based on the latest twelve months, the trailing P/E is 20.2 and the forward P/E is 10.6. Barnes & Noble Education earned a return on equity of 6.0% and a return on invested capital of 8.2% in fiscal 2026. It ended the year with $223.5 million of debt and $8.4 million in cash and short-term investments, net debt of $215.1 million. It returned $0.0 million to shareholders: $0 in dividends and $0.0 million in share buybacks, 0% of free cash flow. The share count rose 85.1% from 18.7M to 34.6M over 9 years.
See the BNED income statement, the BNED chart for price history, or the BNED stock overview for the latest quote and news.
BNED key metrics FAQ
What is Barnes & Noble Education's P/E ratio?
Barnes & Noble Education's trailing P/E ratio is 20.2 based on the last twelve months of earnings (as of October 17, 2026), and its forward P/E is 10.6. At the end of fiscal 2026 it was 20.2.
What is Barnes & Noble Education's EV/EBITDA?
Barnes & Noble Education's enterprise value was 8.5 times EBITDA at the end of fiscal 2026 (enterprise value $556.4 million, EBITDA $65.7 million); the current EV/EBITDA is 9.3.
What is Barnes & Noble Education's return on equity?
Barnes & Noble Education's return on equity (ROE) was 6.0% in fiscal 2026: net income of $16.9 million on average shareholders' equity of $283.3 million.
What is Barnes & Noble Education's ROIC?
Barnes & Noble Education's return on invested capital was 8.2% in fiscal 2026, using after-tax operating income divided by average debt plus equity minus cash.
How much debt does Barnes & Noble Education have?
Barnes & Noble Education had total debt of $223.5 million at the end of fiscal 2026, a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76 and $215.1 million of net debt (3.27 times EBITDA).
Does Barnes & Noble Education buy back its shares?
Yes. Barnes & Noble Education spent $0.0 million on net share repurchases in fiscal 2026 Shares outstanding changed +1.6% over the year, to 34.6M..
What is Barnes & Noble Education's free cash flow yield?
Barnes & Noble Education generated $33.9 million of free cash flow in fiscal 2026, a free cash flow yield of 9.9% on its market value at year-end ($341.3 million).
What is Barnes & Noble Education's current ratio?
Barnes & Noble Education's current ratio was 1.71 at the end of fiscal 2026: current assets were 1.71 times current liabilities.