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

WERNER ENTERPRISES INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($808.6M vs $598.2M, roughly 1.4× Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.). Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 4.2% vs -0.5%, a 4.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, WERNER ENTERPRISES INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (13.6% vs 6.9%). Over the past eight quarters, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (20.0% CAGR vs 4.3%).

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.

Werner Enterprises, Inc. is an American transportation and logistics company, serving the United States, Mexico and Canada. Werner Enterprises stated that it had 2023 revenues of $3.28 billion and over 14,000 employees and contractors.

BNED vs WERN — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
WERN
WERN
1.4× larger
WERN
$808.6M
$598.2M
BNED
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
WERN
WERN
+6.7% gap
WERN
13.6%
6.9%
BNED
Higher net margin
BNED
BNED
4.7% more per $
BNED
4.2%
-0.5%
WERN
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
BNED
BNED
Annualised
BNED
20.0%
4.3%
WERN

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Revenue
$598.2M
$808.6M
Net Profit
$25.0M
$-4.3M
Gross Margin
21.7%
Operating Margin
6.8%
Net Margin
4.2%
-0.5%
Revenue YoY
6.9%
13.6%
Net Profit YoY
-49.7%
57.8%
EPS (diluted)
$0.72
$-0.07

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
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$808.6M
Q4 25
$598.2M
$719.9M
Q3 25
$274.2M
$752.2M
Q2 25
$233.0M
$734.1M
Q1 25
$419.7M
$693.4M
Q4 24
$559.7M
$736.6M
Q3 24
$250.9M
$726.3M
Q2 24
$192.7M
$742.7M
Net Profit
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$-4.3M
Q4 25
$25.0M
$-27.8M
Q3 25
$-18.3M
$-20.6M
Q2 25
$-23.0M
$44.1M
Q1 25
$17.9M
$-10.1M
Q4 24
$43.2M
$11.9M
Q3 24
$-103.9M
$6.6M
Q2 24
$-41.9M
$9.5M
Gross Margin
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
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%
Operating Margin
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
Q4 25
6.8%
-5.0%
Q3 25
-8.4%
-1.7%
Q2 25
-4.9%
9.0%
Q1 25
4.5%
-0.8%
Q4 24
8.4%
1.8%
Q3 24
-15.4%
2.4%
Q2 24
-16.3%
2.6%
Net Margin
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
-0.5%
Q4 25
4.2%
-3.9%
Q3 25
-6.7%
-2.7%
Q2 25
-9.9%
6.0%
Q1 25
4.3%
-1.5%
Q4 24
7.7%
1.6%
Q3 24
-41.4%
0.9%
Q2 24
-21.7%
1.3%
EPS (diluted)
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$-0.07
Q4 25
$0.72
$-0.46
Q3 25
$-0.54
$-0.34
Q2 25
$2.97
$0.72
Q1 25
$0.59
$-0.16
Q4 24
$1.63
$0.19
Q3 24
$-7.69
$0.11
Q2 24
$-15.68
$0.15

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$11.7M
$61.5M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$122.5M
$878.2M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$283.2M
$1.4B
Total Assets
$1.1B
$3.3B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×
0.65×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$61.5M
Q4 25
$11.7M
$59.9M
Q3 25
$7.3M
$51.0M
Q2 25
$9.1M
$51.4M
Q1 25
$9.2M
$52.0M
Q4 24
$11.6M
$40.8M
Q3 24
$8.2M
$54.7M
Q2 24
$10.5M
$70.4M
Total Debt
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$878.2M
Q4 25
$122.5M
$752.0M
Q3 25
$170.0M
$725.0M
Q2 25
$103.1M
$725.0M
Q1 25
$141.2M
$640.0M
Q4 24
$177.6M
$650.0M
Q3 24
$221.9M
$690.0M
Q2 24
$196.3M
$670.0M
Stockholders' Equity
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$1.4B
Q4 25
$283.2M
$1.4B
Q3 25
$256.5M
$1.4B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$1.4B
Q1 25
$292.9M
$1.4B
Q4 24
$211.4M
$1.5B
Q3 24
$149.8M
$1.4B
Q2 24
$80.4M
$1.5B
Total Assets
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
$3.3B
Q4 25
$1.1B
$2.9B
Q3 25
$950.8M
$3.0B
Q2 25
$790.3M
$2.9B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$3.0B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$3.1B
Q3 24
$973.2M
$3.1B
Q2 24
$909.9M
$3.1B
Debt / Equity
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
0.65×
Q4 25
0.43×
0.55×
Q3 25
0.66×
0.52×
Q2 25
0.38×
0.51×
Q1 25
0.48×
0.45×
Q4 24
0.84×
0.45×
Q3 24
1.48×
0.48×
Q2 24
2.44×
0.46×

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
WERN
WERN
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$66.2M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$61.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
0.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.65×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-4.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
Q4 25
$66.2M
$62.3M
Q3 25
$-67.6M
$44.1M
Q2 25
$52.6M
$46.0M
Q1 25
$-41.9M
$29.4M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$71.0M
Q3 24
$-143.5M
$61.0M
Q2 24
$81.7M
$109.1M
Free Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
Q4 25
$61.9M
$-23.5M
Q3 25
$-71.3M
$-8.6M
Q2 25
$49.5M
$-42.3M
Q1 25
$-44.7M
$5.9M
Q4 24
$44.4M
$-9.8M
Q3 24
$-147.5M
$-73.4M
Q2 24
$79.1M
$-31.2M
FCF Margin
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
Q4 25
10.4%
-3.3%
Q3 25
-26.0%
-1.1%
Q2 25
21.3%
-5.8%
Q1 25
-10.7%
0.8%
Q4 24
7.9%
-1.3%
Q3 24
-58.8%
-10.1%
Q2 24
41.1%
-4.2%
Capex Intensity
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
0.2%
Q4 25
0.7%
11.9%
Q3 25
1.4%
7.0%
Q2 25
1.3%
12.0%
Q1 25
0.7%
3.4%
Q4 24
0.5%
11.0%
Q3 24
1.6%
18.5%
Q2 24
1.4%
18.9%
Cash Conversion
BNED
BNED
WERN
WERN
Q1 26
Q4 25
2.65×
Q3 25
Q2 25
1.04×
Q1 25
-2.34×
Q4 24
1.10×
5.97×
Q3 24
9.30×
Q2 24
11.52×

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%

WERN
WERN

Segment breakdown not available.

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