Why Dave & Buster’s Earnings Are So Great

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ: PLAY) reported its fiscal second-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Friday. The company said that it had $0.84 in earnings per share (EPS) and $319.2 million in revenue, which compares with consensus estimates that called for EPS of $0.67 and $315.25 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had $0.71 in EPS on revenue of $280.75 million.

During the latest quarter, comparable store sales decreased 2.4%, compared to a 1.1% increase in the same period last year. The comparable store sales decline was driven by a 2.6% decrease in walk-in sales and a 0.1% increase in special events sales. Comparable store sales in Amusements & Other decreased 1.2% and in Food & Beverage decreased 4.1%.

The board of directors initiated a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, payable on October 10, 2018, to shareholders of record on September 25.

Looking ahead to the fiscal full year, the company expects to see net income in the range of $101 million to $111 million (versus $95 million to $110 million previously) and total revenues between $1.230 billion and $1.255 billion (versus $1.200 billion to $1.240 billion previously).

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Consensus estimates call for $2.72 in EPS and $1.24 billion in revenue for the fiscal full year.

CEO Brian Jenkins commented:

We delivered meaningful sequential improvement in comparable store sales and double-digit revenue growth during the second quarter. We are pleased with the strong guest response to our proprietary VR platform and look forward to building on this momentum. Our team is laser-focused on executing on our key strategic priorities to drive further improvement in performance. Meanwhile, our new stores are tracking well and we remain well-positioned to capitalize on the long-term opportunity to more than double our store base in the US and Canada.

Shares of Dave & Buster’s closed Thursday at $57.52, with a consensus analyst price target of $64.56 and a 52-week trading range of $37.85 to $58.86. Following the announcement, the stock was up about 4% at $59.70 in early trading indications Friday.

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