Latest news with #Dave&Buster'sEntertainment
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave & Buster's Announces Promotion of Les Lehner to Chief Development Officer
DALLAS, June 13, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc., (NASDAQ: PLAY), ("Dave & Buster's" or "the Company") today announced that it has promoted Les Lehner to the position of Chief Development Officer. Mr. Lehner most recently served as Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Main Event Development. In connection with this promotion, the Company announced that John Mulleady, current Chief Development Officer, will retire effective as of the close of business on October 23, 2025. Effective as of June 30, 2025, Mr. Mulleady will transition to an advisory role at the Company to ensure a smooth transition until the effective date of his retirement. The Company and Mr. Mulleady have further agreed that he will provide consulting services to the Company from the effective date of his retirement until January 31, 2026. 'I want to express my sincere gratitude to John for his nearly 15 years of dedicated service to Dave & Buster's. During his tenure, he achieved remarkable results, leading the successful construction of over 100 new stores and consistently demonstrating best-in-class development prowess,' said Kevin Sheehan, Board Chair and Interim Chief Executive Officer. 'While John will undoubtedly be missed when he steps away in 2026, we are fortunate to be transitioning leadership of our development efforts to Les – an exceptionally capable leader within our executive team. Les has been a versatile and highly effective contributor to our organization, overseeing procurement, cost optimization, and Main Event development. I have full confidence that he will excel as our new Chief Development Officer, bringing deep industry knowledge and a proven track record of development expertise to the role. Lastly, we have an existing, well developed pipeline of approximately 40 stores we expect to open over the next three years and look forward to Les leading the Company's ongoing growth in this area.' About Les Lehner Mr. Lehner served as Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Main Event Development since August 2022. Previously he was Executive Vice President, Chief Development and Procurement Officer at Main Event Entertainment from 2018 through July 2022, and Senior Vice President, Chief Development and Procurement Officer at Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. from 2015 through 2018. Prior to that he was with CEC Entertainment from 2000 through 2015 in various roles including Senior Vice President, Development and Procurement. About Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Coppell, Texas, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc., is the owner and operator of 236 venues in North America that offer premier entertainment and dining experiences to guests through two distinct brands: Dave & Buster's and Main Event. The Company has 175 Dave & Buster's branded stores in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada and offers guests the opportunity to "Eat Drink Play and Watch," all in one location. Each store offers a full menu of entrées and appetizers, a complete selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and an extensive assortment of entertainment attractions centered around playing games and watching live sports and other televised events. The Company also operates 61 Main Event branded stores in 22 states across the country, and offers state-of-the-art bowling, laser tag, hundreds of arcade games and virtual reality, making it the perfect place for families to connect and make memories. For more information about each brand, visit and For Investor Relations Inquiries: Cory Hatton, Head of Entertainment Finance, Investor Relations & TreasurerDave & Buster's Entertainment, in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave & Buster's Stock Soars as Solid Outlook Offsets Weak Results
Positive comments about the business helped send Dave & Buster's shares 17% higher Wednesday even though the game-themed restaurant chain missed quarterly profit and sales estimates. Interim CEO Kevin Sheehan explained that operating results significantly improved throughout the quarter. Dave & Buster's believes it will produce strong revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and free cash flow of Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) soared 17% Wednesday, a day after the game-themed restaurant gave a positive outlook despite weaker-than-expected first-quarter results. Interim CEO Kevin Sheehan said in the company's earnings release Tuesday that Dave & Buster's was "making good progress and our operating results significantly improved over the course of the first quarter." Sheehan noted in a call with investors that May's performance was "very encouraging with a particularly robust Memorial Day weekend of solidly positive sales to kick off the summer and we expect this momentum to continue," according to an AlphaSense transcript. Sheehan added the company was confident its current actions "will lead to significantly improved revenue, adjusted EBITDA, free cash flow and shareholder value in the months ahead." Sheehan explained that Dave & Buster's "back to basics" strategy was working and driving a "material recovery" in its revenue trajectory. The comments came after the company reported first quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76, about 25% less than the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue fell 3.5% year-over-year to $567.7 million, also missing forecasts. Comparable store sales were down 8.3%. However, Dave & Buster's noted that they improved every month since the beginning of the quarter in February. With today's advance, Dave & Buster's Entertainment shares moved into positive territory for 2025. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's Why Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) Traded Lower in Q1
Patient Capital Management, a value investing firm, released its 'Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy' first quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. 2025 got out to a solid start with the market hitting all-time highs in mid-February. However, a dramatic reversal pushed the S&P 500 down 8.7%, closing the quarter down 4.3%. During the quarter, the strategy returned -9.5% net of fees compared to the S&P 500's -4.3% return. According to a three-factor performance attribution model, allocation and interaction effects contributed positively to the portfolio's performance, which were partially offset by selection effects. In addition, you can check the fund's top 5 holdings to know its best picks in 2025. In its first-quarter 2025 investor letter, Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY). Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) is a leading operator of entertainment and dining venues for adults and families. The one-month return of Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) was -1.77%, and its shares lost 62.43% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On April 23, 2025, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) stock closed at $19.48 per share with a market capitalization of $672.358 million. Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) in its Q1 2025 investor letter: "Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) trended lower over the first quarter as the market continued to worry about revenue visibility. The company had a disappointing 2024, culminating in the abrupt departure of then-CEO Chris Morris. Founded in 1982 in Dallas, Texas, the company has expanded to over 200 venues in North America across two brands (Dave & Busters, and Main Event). The company is in the middle of a multi-year transformation focused on reinvigorating growth through store remodels, store expansions, and technology upgrades while enhancing margins through cost optimizations and synergies. Despite the efforts, the results haven't yet materialized in the numbers as the challenging macro environment continues to weigh on consumer expenditures. In the meantime, an activist, Hill Path Capital, has built up a position in the company and taken two board seats. With the Chairman of the Board stepping in as CEO, we are already starting to see improved results with the focus on a back-to-basics strategy delivering better than expected results in March and April. While the timing of business model inflection remains uncertain, what's clear is the stock is trading at an all-time low valuation of 6.8x forward earnings. As the company works to improve its operations, they've been actively returning cash to shareholders through buybacks, repurchasing 12% of shares outstanding over the last 12 months." A crowded performance hall with an audience enjoying a captivating show. Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 30 hedge fund portfolios held Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) at the end of the fourth quarter, compared to 28 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. In another article, we covered Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) and shared the list of stocks with heavy insider buying in 2025. Patient Capital Opportunity Equity Strategy initiated a position in Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) during Q3 2024. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors. READ NEXT: Michael Burry Is Selling These Stocks and A New Dawn Is Coming to US Stocks. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY): Among Stocks with Heavy Insider Buying in 2025
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) stands against other stocks with heavy insider buying in 2025. Insider trading is often seen as an important indicator of management's confidence in their company's future. For decades, top investors and analysts have endorsed this idea, arguing that insiders purchase shares of their own companies for one primary reason – if they firmly believe the stock price will increase significantly and grow the value of their investment. This idea stems from the fact that insiders, such as high ranked executives and directors, possess confidential information and data that helps them draw insights into the company's outlook and growth trajectory well before outside investors are able to. As a result, empirical research on the topic tends to agree that insider buying coincides with troughs in stock prices, and vice versa, insider selling coincides with peak valuations. READ ALSO: 12 Penny Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 The US stock market has experienced two years of explosive growth, following the 2022 bear market fueled by rising inflation and interest rates. For most of 2023, the stock market appreciation was primarily driven by a small subset of companies fueled by AI-related tailwinds, which led to rising concentration levels, all while on an equal-weighted basis, the performance was staying flat. The following year brought a broader acceleration in growth, with many other sectors catching up and driving a new all-time high into early 2025. We can now firmly say that the bear market of 2023-2024 has been broad, leading to apparently expensive valuations across the entire market. It is certainly not easy to be an investor in the US market right now, as peak valuations make most of the companies appear expensive, all while new threats and risks loom from all directions. The new US administration has brought a major change in trajectory, something which hasn't been seen in decades. Many of their new policies are a short-term (at least) threat to several industries and sectors, ranging from Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements and ending with Government consulting, engineering, and technology contractors. A more recent development, which arises as a result of the new Government policies, is a potential slowdown in commercial and residential construction – the freshly imposed tariffs are a major headwind for builders, as they make building materials significantly more expensive, all while the heightened scrutiny on immigration can potentially cause labor shortages in this field, which again makes building more expensive. The key takeaway is that plenty of new risks arise every day, which, coupled with still near peak valuations, makes it difficult for investors to decide which stocks to invest in. With that being said, we believe insider buying could provide unique insights into what more informed investors (management itself) believe will happen with the stock price of their company. Sudden developments often bring overreactions from investors, which create opportunities for more informed investors to act. In this context, closely watching insider buying could provide a strong signal that the market overreacted to some negative developments. Also, we believe that the larger the amount of stock an insider is buying, the stronger the insider's conviction in the future of the company. That's why we decided to particularly track companies that have shown heavy insider buying in the last couple of months. We used Insider Monkey's insider trading stock screener to find companies with at least two insiders buying shares worth at least $500,000 in the last six months. We believe that multiple insiders buying significant amounts of stock represents a higher chance that insiders have high confidence in the company. For all the companies we also include the number of hedge funds that own the stock, according to Insider Monkey's database of Q4 2024. The stocks are ranked according to hedge funds having stakes in them. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). A crowded performance hall with an audience enjoying a captivating & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) operates a chain of entertainment venues combining dining, arcade games, and entertainment experiences. Each location features a full-service restaurant and bar, along with an extensive arcade called the 'Million Dollar Midway,' offering a variety of games and interactive experiences. The company operates over 200 venues across North America under the Dave & Buster's and Main Event brands, with plans for further expansion. PLAY focuses on providing a family-friendly entertainment destination, catering to both casual dining and fun, interactive gaming for all ages. Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) announced the resignation of CEO Chris Morris, with Kevin Sheehan assuming the role of Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO. Despite leadership changes, the company remains committed to executing the strategic plan unveiled at their Investor Day in June 2023. The recent Q3 2025 financial results showed comparable store sales decreased by 7.7% on a like-for-like calendar basis, with revenue of $453 million, net loss of $33 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $68 million. The company expects fiscal 2024 adjusted EBITDA to be within a range of $505 million and $515 million. PLAY continues to make progress on several strategic initiatives, including opening 3 new stores with strong cash-on-cash returns, completing 11 new fully programmed remodels, and seeing strong year-over-year growth in special events business. Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY) successfully refinanced a portion of its debt, raising a new $700 million term loan, redeeming $440 million of senior notes, paying down $200 million of existing term loan principal, and upsizing their revolving credit facility by $150 million to $650 million. The company's marketing strategy is undergoing optimization with a new agency partner, focusing on improving media mix, digital marketing analytics, and customer targeting. The loyalty database has grown to over 7 million members, with loyalty members visiting 2.5x more often and spending more during their visits. PLAY experienced heavy insider buying in the last six months, with two insiders buying at least $500,000 worth of company stock. Overall, PLAY ranks 5th on our list of stocks with heavy insider buying in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of PLAY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PLAY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:PLAY) ROE Continue To Surpass The Industry Average?
One of the best investments we can make is in our own knowledge and skill set. With that in mind, this article will work through how we can use Return On Equity (ROE) to better understand a business. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAY). Return on Equity or ROE is a test of how effectively a company is growing its value and managing investors' money. Put another way, it reveals the company's success at turning shareholder investments into profits. View our latest analysis for Dave & Buster's Entertainment The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Dave & Buster's Entertainment is: 38% = US$85m ÷ US$227m (Based on the trailing twelve months to November 2024). The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.38 in profit. Arguably the easiest way to assess company's ROE is to compare it with the average in its industry. However, this method is only useful as a rough check, because companies do differ quite a bit within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Dave & Buster's Entertainment has a higher ROE than the average (12%) in the Hospitality industry. That's clearly a positive. Bear in mind, a high ROE doesn't always mean superior financial performance. A higher proportion of debt in a company's capital structure may also result in a high ROE, where the high debt levels could be a huge risk . Our risks dashboardshould have the 4 risks we have identified for Dave & Buster's Entertainment. Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from retained earnings, issuing new shares (equity), or debt. In the first and second cases, the ROE will reflect this use of cash for investment in the business. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders' equity. In this manner the use of debt will boost ROE, even though the core economics of the business stay the same. It seems that Dave & Buster's Entertainment uses a huge volume of debt to fund the business, since it has an extremely high debt to equity ratio of 7.09. Its ROE is clearly quite good, but it seems to be boosted by the significant use of debt by the company. Return on equity is one way we can compare its business quality of different companies. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt. Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, you'll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
