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

PIPER SANDLER COMPANIES is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($667.0M vs $598.2M, roughly 1.1× Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.). PIPER SANDLER COMPANIES runs the higher net margin — 17.1% vs 4.2%, a 12.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PIPER SANDLER COMPANIES posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (37.4% vs 6.9%). Over the past eight quarters, PIPER SANDLER COMPANIES's revenue compounded faster (39.2% CAGR vs 20.0%).

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.

Piper Sandler Companies is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company, focused on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring, public offerings, public finance, institutional brokerage, investment management, and securities research. Through its principal subsidiary, Piper Sandler & Co., the company targets corporations, institutional investors, and public entities.

BNED vs PIPR — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PIPR
PIPR
1.1× larger
PIPR
$667.0M
$598.2M
BNED
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PIPR
PIPR
+30.5% gap
PIPR
37.4%
6.9%
BNED
Higher net margin
PIPR
PIPR
12.9% more per $
PIPR
17.1%
4.2%
BNED
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
PIPR
PIPR
Annualised
PIPR
39.2%
20.0%
BNED

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Revenue
$598.2M
$667.0M
Net Profit
$25.0M
$114.0M
Gross Margin
21.7%
Operating Margin
6.8%
28.3%
Net Margin
4.2%
17.1%
Revenue YoY
6.9%
37.4%
Net Profit YoY
-49.7%
65.0%
EPS (diluted)
$0.72
$6.41

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
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$598.2M
$667.0M
Q3 25
$274.2M
$480.1M
Q2 25
$233.0M
$398.6M
Q1 25
$419.7M
$358.6M
Q4 24
$559.7M
$485.4M
Q3 24
$250.9M
$360.9M
Q2 24
$192.7M
$340.8M
Q1 24
$415.4M
$344.4M
Net Profit
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$25.0M
$114.0M
Q3 25
$-18.3M
$60.3M
Q2 25
$-23.0M
$42.2M
Q1 25
$17.9M
$64.9M
Q4 24
$43.2M
$69.1M
Q3 24
$-103.9M
$34.8M
Q2 24
$-41.9M
$34.8M
Q1 24
$-9.3M
$42.5M
Gross Margin
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
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
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
6.8%
28.3%
Q3 25
-8.4%
22.4%
Q2 25
-4.9%
12.3%
Q1 25
4.5%
8.2%
Q4 24
8.4%
16.9%
Q3 24
-15.4%
15.4%
Q2 24
-16.3%
8.3%
Q1 24
0.4%
15.2%
Net Margin
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
4.2%
17.1%
Q3 25
-6.7%
12.6%
Q2 25
-9.9%
10.6%
Q1 25
4.3%
18.1%
Q4 24
7.7%
14.2%
Q3 24
-41.4%
9.6%
Q2 24
-21.7%
10.2%
Q1 24
-2.2%
12.3%
EPS (diluted)
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$0.72
$6.41
Q3 25
$-0.54
$3.38
Q2 25
$2.97
$2.38
Q1 25
$0.59
$3.65
Q4 24
$1.63
$3.88
Q3 24
$-7.69
$1.96
Q2 24
$-15.68
$1.97
Q1 24
$-3.49
$2.43

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$11.7M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$122.5M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$283.2M
$1.4B
Total Assets
$1.1B
$2.6B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$11.7M
Q3 25
$7.3M
Q2 25
$9.1M
Q1 25
$9.2M
Q4 24
$11.6M
Q3 24
$8.2M
Q2 24
$10.5M
Q1 24
$8.1M
Total Debt
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$122.5M
Q3 25
$170.0M
Q2 25
$103.1M
Q1 25
$141.2M
Q4 24
$177.6M
Q3 24
$221.9M
Q2 24
$196.3M
Q1 24
$30.2M
Stockholders' Equity
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$283.2M
$1.4B
Q3 25
$256.5M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$1.2B
Q1 25
$292.9M
$1.2B
Q4 24
$211.4M
$1.2B
Q3 24
$149.8M
$1.2B
Q2 24
$80.4M
$1.1B
Q1 24
$121.5M
$1.1B
Total Assets
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$1.1B
$2.6B
Q3 25
$950.8M
$2.2B
Q2 25
$790.3M
$2.0B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.8B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$2.3B
Q3 24
$973.2M
$2.0B
Q2 24
$909.9M
$1.9B
Q1 24
$1.2B
$1.8B
Debt / Equity
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
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
PIPR
PIPR
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$66.2M
$729.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$61.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.65×
6.40×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-4.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$66.2M
$729.8M
Q3 25
$-67.6M
$31.9M
Q2 25
$52.6M
$32.1M
Q1 25
$-41.9M
$-207.2M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$163.8M
Q3 24
$-143.5M
$80.1M
Q2 24
$81.7M
$266.5M
Q1 24
$-35.8M
$-197.2M
Free Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
$61.9M
Q3 25
$-71.3M
Q2 25
$49.5M
Q1 25
$-44.7M
Q4 24
$44.4M
Q3 24
$-147.5M
Q2 24
$79.1M
Q1 24
$-39.0M
FCF Margin
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
10.4%
Q3 25
-26.0%
Q2 25
21.3%
Q1 25
-10.7%
Q4 24
7.9%
Q3 24
-58.8%
Q2 24
41.1%
Q1 24
-9.4%
Capex Intensity
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
0.7%
Q3 25
1.4%
Q2 25
1.3%
Q1 25
0.7%
Q4 24
0.5%
Q3 24
1.6%
Q2 24
1.4%
Q1 24
0.8%
Cash Conversion
BNED
BNED
PIPR
PIPR
Q4 25
2.65×
6.40×
Q3 25
0.53×
Q2 25
0.76×
Q1 25
-2.34×
-3.19×
Q4 24
1.10×
2.37×
Q3 24
2.30×
Q2 24
7.66×
Q1 24
-4.64×

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%

PIPR
PIPR

Advisory Services$402.6M60%
Equities Financing$66.7M10%
Equity Salesand Trading$64.2M10%
Fixed Income Salesand Trading$47.9M7%
Other$46.7M7%
Debt Financing$38.9M6%

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