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Side-by-side financial comparison of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) and MSCI Inc. (MSCI). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MSCI Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($822.5M vs $598.2M, roughly 1.4× Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.). MSCI Inc. runs the higher net margin — 34.6% vs 4.2%, a 30.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, MSCI Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (10.6% vs 6.9%). MSCI Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($488.7M vs $61.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (20.0% CAGR vs 10.0%).

Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 700+ retail stores across the United States.

MSCI Inc. is an American finance company headquartered in New York City. MSCI is a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indices, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate finance products. It operates the MSCI World, MSCI Emerging Markets, and MSCI All Country World (ACWI) indices, among others.

BNED vs MSCI — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MSCI
MSCI
1.4× larger
MSCI
$822.5M
$598.2M
BNED
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
MSCI
MSCI
+3.7% gap
MSCI
10.6%
6.9%
BNED
Higher net margin
MSCI
MSCI
30.4% more per $
MSCI
34.6%
4.2%
BNED
More free cash flow
MSCI
MSCI
$426.8M more FCF
MSCI
$488.7M
$61.9M
BNED
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BNED
BNED
Annualised
BNED
20.0%
10.0%
MSCI

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Revenue
$598.2M
$822.5M
Net Profit
$25.0M
$284.7M
Gross Margin
21.7%
Operating Margin
6.8%
56.4%
Net Margin
4.2%
34.6%
Revenue YoY
6.9%
10.6%
Net Profit YoY
-49.7%
-6.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.72
$3.81

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$598.2M
$822.5M
Q3 25
$274.2M
$793.4M
Q2 25
$233.0M
$772.7M
Q1 25
$419.7M
$745.8M
Q4 24
$559.7M
$743.5M
Q3 24
$250.9M
$724.7M
Q2 24
$192.7M
$707.9M
Q1 24
$415.4M
$680.0M
Net Profit
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$25.0M
$284.7M
Q3 25
$-18.3M
$325.4M
Q2 25
$-23.0M
$303.6M
Q1 25
$17.9M
$288.6M
Q4 24
$43.2M
$305.5M
Q3 24
$-103.9M
$280.9M
Q2 24
$-41.9M
$266.8M
Q1 24
$-9.3M
$256.0M
Gross Margin
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
21.7%
Q3 25
20.2%
Q2 25
30.3%
Q1 25
22.3%
Q4 24
23.0%
Q3 24
17.9%
Q2 24
28.7%
Q1 24
24.2%
Operating Margin
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
6.8%
56.4%
Q3 25
-8.4%
56.4%
Q2 25
-4.9%
55.0%
Q1 25
4.5%
50.6%
Q4 24
8.4%
54.5%
Q3 24
-15.4%
55.4%
Q2 24
-16.3%
54.0%
Q1 24
0.4%
49.9%
Net Margin
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
4.2%
34.6%
Q3 25
-6.7%
41.0%
Q2 25
-9.9%
39.3%
Q1 25
4.3%
38.7%
Q4 24
7.7%
41.1%
Q3 24
-41.4%
38.8%
Q2 24
-21.7%
37.7%
Q1 24
-2.2%
37.6%
EPS (diluted)
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$0.72
$3.81
Q3 25
$-0.54
$4.25
Q2 25
$2.97
$3.92
Q1 25
$0.59
$3.71
Q4 24
$1.63
$3.89
Q3 24
$-7.69
$3.57
Q2 24
$-15.68
$3.37
Q1 24
$-3.49
$3.22

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$11.7M
$515.3M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$122.5M
$6.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$283.2M
$-2.7B
Total Assets
$1.1B
$5.7B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$11.7M
$515.3M
Q3 25
$7.3M
$400.1M
Q2 25
$9.1M
$347.3M
Q1 25
$9.2M
$360.7M
Q4 24
$11.6M
$409.4M
Q3 24
$8.2M
$501.0M
Q2 24
$10.5M
$451.4M
Q1 24
$8.1M
$519.3M
Total Debt
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$122.5M
$6.2B
Q3 25
$170.0M
$5.5B
Q2 25
$103.1M
$4.5B
Q1 25
$141.2M
$4.5B
Q4 24
$177.6M
$4.5B
Q3 24
$221.9M
$4.5B
Q2 24
$196.3M
$4.5B
Q1 24
$30.2M
$4.5B
Stockholders' Equity
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$283.2M
$-2.7B
Q3 25
$256.5M
$-1.9B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$-886.2M
Q1 25
$292.9M
$-958.6M
Q4 24
$211.4M
$-940.0M
Q3 24
$149.8M
$-751.0M
Q2 24
$80.4M
$-734.5M
Q1 24
$121.5M
$-650.5M
Total Assets
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$1.1B
$5.7B
Q3 25
$950.8M
$5.4B
Q2 25
$790.3M
$5.4B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$5.3B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$5.4B
Q3 24
$973.2M
$5.4B
Q2 24
$909.9M
$5.5B
Q1 24
$1.2B
$5.5B
Debt / Equity
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
0.43×
Q3 25
0.66×
Q2 25
0.38×
Q1 25
0.48×
Q4 24
0.84×
Q3 24
1.48×
Q2 24
2.44×
Q1 24
0.25×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$66.2M
$501.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$61.9M
$488.7M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.4%
59.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
1.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.65×
1.76×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-4.6M
$1.5B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$66.2M
$501.1M
Q3 25
$-67.6M
$449.4M
Q2 25
$52.6M
$336.1M
Q1 25
$-41.9M
$301.7M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$430.6M
Q3 24
$-143.5M
$421.6M
Q2 24
$81.7M
$349.2M
Q1 24
$-35.8M
$300.1M
Free Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
$61.9M
$488.7M
Q3 25
$-71.3M
$445.5M
Q2 25
$49.5M
$324.7M
Q1 25
$-44.7M
$290.2M
Q4 24
$44.4M
$416.4M
Q3 24
$-147.5M
$415.0M
Q2 24
$79.1M
$340.6M
Q1 24
$-39.0M
$295.9M
FCF Margin
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
10.4%
59.4%
Q3 25
-26.0%
56.2%
Q2 25
21.3%
42.0%
Q1 25
-10.7%
38.9%
Q4 24
7.9%
56.0%
Q3 24
-58.8%
57.3%
Q2 24
41.1%
48.1%
Q1 24
-9.4%
43.5%
Capex Intensity
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
0.7%
1.5%
Q3 25
1.4%
0.5%
Q2 25
1.3%
1.5%
Q1 25
0.7%
1.5%
Q4 24
0.5%
1.9%
Q3 24
1.6%
0.9%
Q2 24
1.4%
1.2%
Q1 24
0.8%
0.6%
Cash Conversion
BNED
BNED
MSCI
MSCI
Q4 25
2.65×
1.76×
Q3 25
1.38×
Q2 25
1.11×
Q1 25
-2.34×
1.05×
Q4 24
1.10×
1.41×
Q3 24
1.50×
Q2 24
1.31×
Q1 24
1.17×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

BNED
BNED

Course Materials Product$459.3M77%
General Merchandise Product$112.9M19%
Serviceand Other$26.1M4%

MSCI
MSCI

Recurring Subscriptions$246.4M30%
Asset Based Fees$211.7M26%
Analytics Segment$182.3M22%
Sustainability And Climate Segment$90.3M11%
Other$70.9M9%
Non Recurring$21.1M3%

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