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Side-by-side financial comparison of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) and Paylocity Holding Corp (PCTY). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($598.2M vs $387.0M, roughly 1.5× Paylocity Holding Corp). Paylocity Holding Corp runs the higher net margin — 13.0% vs 4.2%, a 8.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Paylocity Holding Corp posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (11.3% vs 6.9%). Paylocity Holding Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($113.6M vs $61.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (20.0% CAGR vs 2.7%).
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.
Paylocity Holding Corporation is an American provider of cloud-based payroll, , spend management, and human capital management (HCM) software.
BNED vs PCTY — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $598.2M | $387.0M |
| Net Profit | $25.0M | $50.2M |
| Gross Margin | 21.7% | 72.9% |
| Operating Margin | 6.8% | 18.2% |
| Net Margin | 4.2% | 13.0% |
| Revenue YoY | 6.9% | 11.3% |
| Net Profit YoY | -49.7% | 34.0% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.72 | $0.92 |
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.
| Q4 25 | $598.2M | $387.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $274.2M | $378.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $233.0M | $369.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $419.7M | $421.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $559.7M | $347.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $250.9M | $333.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $192.7M | $324.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $415.4M | $366.8M |
| Q4 25 | $25.0M | $50.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-18.3M | $48.0M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-23.0M | $48.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $17.9M | $91.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $43.2M | $37.5M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-103.9M | $49.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-41.9M | $48.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-9.3M | $85.3M |
| Q4 25 | 21.7% | 72.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 20.2% | 73.9% | ||
| Q2 25 | 30.3% | 73.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 22.3% | 77.1% | ||
| Q4 24 | 23.0% | 72.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | 17.9% | 74.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 28.7% | 74.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | 24.2% | 77.8% |
| Q4 25 | 6.8% | 18.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | -8.4% | 19.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | -4.9% | 17.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.5% | 30.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.4% | 13.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | -15.4% | 19.3% | ||
| Q2 24 | -16.3% | 19.4% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.4% | 29.0% |
| Q4 25 | 4.2% | 13.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | -6.7% | 12.7% | ||
| Q2 25 | -9.9% | 13.1% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.3% | 21.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.7% | 10.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | -41.4% | 14.9% | ||
| Q2 24 | -21.7% | 15.0% | ||
| Q1 24 | -2.2% | 23.3% |
| Q4 25 | $0.72 | $0.92 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-0.54 | $0.86 | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.97 | $0.87 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.59 | $1.61 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.63 | $0.66 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-7.69 | $0.88 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-15.68 | $0.85 | ||
| Q1 24 | $-3.49 | $1.50 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $11.7M | $162.5M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $122.5M | $81.3M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $283.2M | $1.1B |
| Total Assets | $1.1B | $7.0B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.43× | 0.07× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $11.7M | $162.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.3M | $165.2M | ||
| Q2 25 | $9.1M | $398.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $9.2M | $477.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.6M | $482.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $8.2M | $778.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $10.5M | $401.8M | ||
| Q1 24 | $8.1M | $492.7M |
| Q4 25 | $122.5M | $81.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $170.0M | $81.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $103.1M | $162.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $141.2M | $243.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $177.6M | $325.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $221.9M | $325.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $196.3M | $0 | ||
| Q1 24 | $30.2M | — |
| Q4 25 | $283.2M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $256.5M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $1.2B | ||
| Q1 25 | $292.9M | $1.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $211.4M | $1.2B | ||
| Q3 24 | $149.8M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 24 | $80.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q1 24 | $121.5M | $1.1B |
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $7.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $950.8M | $4.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $790.3M | $4.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $5.2B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.0B | $5.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $973.2M | $4.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $909.9M | $4.2B | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.2B | $5.0B |
| Q4 25 | 0.43× | 0.07× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.66× | 0.07× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.38× | 0.13× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.48× | 0.20× | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.84× | 0.28× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.48× | 0.29× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.44× | 0.00× | ||
| 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 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $66.2M | $117.0M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $61.9M | $113.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 10.4% | 29.4% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 0.7% | 0.9% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.65× | 2.33× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-4.6M | $461.1M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $66.2M | $117.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-67.6M | $86.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $52.6M | $86.6M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-41.9M | $186.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $47.4M | $54.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-143.5M | $91.5M | ||
| Q2 24 | $81.7M | $79.9M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-35.8M | $167.5M |
| Q4 25 | $61.9M | $113.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-71.3M | $82.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $49.5M | $81.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-44.7M | $183.7M | ||
| Q4 24 | $44.4M | $51.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-147.5M | $89.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $79.1M | $73.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $-39.0M | $162.0M |
| Q4 25 | 10.4% | 29.4% | ||
| Q3 25 | -26.0% | 21.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 21.3% | 21.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | -10.7% | 43.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 14.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | -58.8% | 26.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 41.1% | 22.7% | ||
| Q1 24 | -9.4% | 44.2% |
| Q4 25 | 0.7% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.4% | 1.0% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.3% | 1.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.7% | 0.5% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.5% | 0.9% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.6% | 0.7% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.4% | 1.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.8% | 1.5% |
| Q4 25 | 2.65× | 2.33× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 1.80× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 1.78× | ||
| Q1 25 | -2.34× | 2.03× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.10× | 1.45× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.84× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 1.64× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 1.96× |
Financial Flow Comparison
Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
BNED
| Course Materials Product | $459.3M | 77% |
| General Merchandise Product | $112.9M | 19% |
| Serviceand Other | $26.1M | 4% |
PCTY
| Recurring Fees | $370.1M | 96% |
| Implementation Services And Other | $16.9M | 4% |
