vs
Side-by-side financial comparison of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) and Worthington Steel, Inc. (WS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.
Worthington Steel, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($871.9M vs $598.2M, roughly 1.5× Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.). Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 4.2% vs 2.2%, a 2.0% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Worthington Steel, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (18.0% vs 6.9%). Worthington Steel, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($74.6M vs $61.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (20.0% CAGR vs 3.9%).
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.
Worthington Enterprises, Inc. is an American industrial manufacturing company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company is composed of two business segments, consumer products and building products. Within these segments, the company designs and manufactures pressure vessels such as propane, oxygen and helium tanks, refrigerant and industrial cylinders, camping and residential use cylinders, water system tanks for storage, treatment, heating, expansion and flow control, as well as a variet...
BNED vs WS — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q2 FY2026
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $598.2M | $871.9M |
| Net Profit | $25.0M | $18.8M |
| Gross Margin | 21.7% | 10.7% |
| Operating Margin | 6.8% | 2.5% |
| Net Margin | 4.2% | 2.2% |
| Revenue YoY | 6.9% | 18.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | -49.7% | 46.9% |
| EPS (diluted) | $0.72 | $0.37 |
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 | $871.9M | ||
| Q3 25 | $274.2M | $872.9M | ||
| Q2 25 | $233.0M | $832.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $419.7M | $687.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $559.7M | $739.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $250.9M | $834.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $192.7M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $415.4M | $805.8M |
| Q4 25 | $25.0M | $18.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-18.3M | $36.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $-23.0M | $55.7M | ||
| Q1 25 | $17.9M | $13.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $43.2M | $12.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-103.9M | $28.4M | ||
| Q2 24 | $-41.9M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-9.3M | $49.0M |
| Q4 25 | 21.7% | 10.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 20.2% | 13.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | 30.3% | 15.2% | ||
| Q1 25 | 22.3% | 11.8% | ||
| Q4 24 | 23.0% | 10.8% | ||
| Q3 24 | 17.9% | 12.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 28.7% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 24.2% | 14.9% |
| Q4 25 | 6.8% | 2.5% | ||
| Q3 25 | -8.4% | 5.5% | ||
| Q2 25 | -4.9% | 8.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.5% | 2.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.4% | 2.6% | ||
| Q3 24 | -15.4% | 5.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | -16.3% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.4% | 8.2% |
| Q4 25 | 4.2% | 2.2% | ||
| Q3 25 | -6.7% | 4.2% | ||
| Q2 25 | -9.9% | 6.7% | ||
| Q1 25 | 4.3% | 2.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.7% | 1.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | -41.4% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | -21.7% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | -2.2% | 6.1% |
| Q4 25 | $0.72 | $0.37 | ||
| Q3 25 | $-0.54 | $0.72 | ||
| Q2 25 | $2.97 | $1.11 | ||
| Q1 25 | $0.59 | $0.27 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.63 | $0.25 | ||
| Q3 24 | $-7.69 | $0.56 | ||
| Q2 24 | $-15.68 | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-3.49 | $0.98 |
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 | $89.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | $122.5M | $72.1M |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $283.2M | $1.1B |
| Total Assets | $1.1B | $2.1B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | 0.43× | 0.06× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $11.7M | $89.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $7.3M | $78.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $9.1M | $38.0M | ||
| Q1 25 | $9.2M | $63.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $11.6M | $52.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $8.2M | $36.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $10.5M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $8.1M | $60.8M |
| Q4 25 | $122.5M | $72.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $170.0M | $73.4M | ||
| Q2 25 | $103.1M | $151.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $141.2M | — | ||
| Q4 24 | $177.6M | $115.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $221.9M | $122.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $196.3M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $30.2M | $147.2M |
| Q4 25 | $283.2M | $1.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $256.5M | $1.1B | ||
| Q2 25 | $272.2M | $1.1B | ||
| Q1 25 | $292.9M | $1.0B | ||
| Q4 24 | $211.4M | $1.0B | ||
| Q3 24 | $149.8M | $1.0B | ||
| Q2 24 | $80.4M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $121.5M | $937.6M |
| Q4 25 | $1.1B | $2.1B | ||
| Q3 25 | $950.8M | $2.2B | ||
| Q2 25 | $790.3M | $2.0B | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.1B | $1.8B | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.0B | $1.7B | ||
| Q3 24 | $973.2M | $1.8B | ||
| Q2 24 | $909.9M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.2B | $1.8B |
| Q4 25 | 0.43× | 0.06× | ||
| Q3 25 | 0.66× | 0.07× | ||
| Q2 25 | 0.38× | 0.14× | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.48× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.84× | 0.11× | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.48× | 0.12× | ||
| Q2 24 | 2.44× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.25× | 0.16× |
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 | $99.3M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $61.9M | $74.6M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 10.4% | 8.6% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue | 0.7% | 2.8% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit | 2.65× | 5.28× |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $-4.6M | $72.5M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.
| Q4 25 | $66.2M | $99.3M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-67.6M | $-6.3M | ||
| Q2 25 | $52.6M | $53.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-41.9M | $53.8M | ||
| Q4 24 | $47.4M | $68.0M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-143.5M | $54.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $81.7M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-35.8M | $44.7M |
| Q4 25 | $61.9M | $74.6M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-71.3M | $-35.7M | ||
| Q2 25 | $49.5M | $8.4M | ||
| Q1 25 | $-44.7M | $25.2M | ||
| Q4 24 | $44.4M | $33.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-147.5M | $33.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $79.1M | — | ||
| Q1 24 | $-39.0M | $22.3M |
| Q4 25 | 10.4% | 8.6% | ||
| Q3 25 | -26.0% | -4.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 21.3% | 1.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | -10.7% | 3.7% | ||
| Q4 24 | 7.9% | 4.5% | ||
| Q3 24 | -58.8% | 4.0% | ||
| Q2 24 | 41.1% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | -9.4% | 2.8% |
| Q4 25 | 0.7% | 2.8% | ||
| Q3 25 | 1.4% | 3.4% | ||
| Q2 25 | 1.3% | 5.5% | ||
| Q1 25 | 0.7% | 4.2% | ||
| Q4 24 | 0.5% | 4.7% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.6% | 2.6% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.4% | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 0.8% | 2.8% |
| Q4 25 | 2.65× | 5.28× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | -0.17× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 0.97× | ||
| Q1 25 | -2.34× | 3.90× | ||
| Q4 24 | 1.10× | 5.31× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 1.92× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | — | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 0.91× |
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% |
WS
| Direct | $844.1M | 97% |
| Toll | $27.8M | 3% |
