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Side-by-side financial comparison of Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED) and Zeta Global Holdings Corp. (ZETA). 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 $394.6M, roughly 1.5× Zeta Global Holdings Corp.). Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 4.2% vs 1.7%, a 2.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Zeta Global Holdings Corp. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (25.4% vs 6.9%). Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($61.9M vs $60.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Zeta Global Holdings Corp.'s revenue compounded faster (42.3% 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.

Zeta Global Holdings Corp. is an American marketing technology company which was founded in 2007. Zeta offers companies a suite of multichannel marketing tools focused on creating, maintaining, and monetizing customer relationships. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 2021, at a US$1.7 billion valuation.

BNED vs ZETA — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
BNED
BNED
1.5× larger
BNED
$598.2M
$394.6M
ZETA
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ZETA
ZETA
+18.5% gap
ZETA
25.4%
6.9%
BNED
Higher net margin
BNED
BNED
2.5% more per $
BNED
4.2%
1.7%
ZETA
More free cash flow
BNED
BNED
$1.0M more FCF
BNED
$61.9M
$60.9M
ZETA
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ZETA
ZETA
Annualised
ZETA
42.3%
20.0%
BNED

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Revenue
$598.2M
$394.6M
Net Profit
$25.0M
$6.5M
Gross Margin
21.7%
59.5%
Operating Margin
6.8%
4.5%
Net Margin
4.2%
1.7%
Revenue YoY
6.9%
25.4%
Net Profit YoY
-49.7%
-57.1%
EPS (diluted)
$0.72
$0.04

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
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$598.2M
$394.6M
Q3 25
$274.2M
$337.2M
Q2 25
$233.0M
$308.4M
Q1 25
$419.7M
$264.4M
Q4 24
$559.7M
$314.7M
Q3 24
$250.9M
$268.3M
Q2 24
$192.7M
$227.8M
Q1 24
$415.4M
$194.9M
Net Profit
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$25.0M
$6.5M
Q3 25
$-18.3M
$-3.6M
Q2 25
$-23.0M
$-12.8M
Q1 25
$17.9M
$-21.6M
Q4 24
$43.2M
$15.2M
Q3 24
$-103.9M
$-17.4M
Q2 24
$-41.9M
$-28.1M
Q1 24
$-9.3M
$-39.6M
Gross Margin
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
21.7%
59.5%
Q3 25
20.2%
60.5%
Q2 25
30.3%
62.1%
Q1 25
22.3%
60.9%
Q4 24
23.0%
60.0%
Q3 24
17.9%
60.6%
Q2 24
28.7%
60.0%
Q1 24
24.2%
60.6%
Operating Margin
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
6.8%
4.5%
Q3 25
-8.4%
2.6%
Q2 25
-4.9%
-1.7%
Q1 25
4.5%
-6.1%
Q4 24
8.4%
2.2%
Q3 24
-15.4%
-4.6%
Q2 24
-16.3%
-11.7%
Q1 24
0.4%
-18.4%
Net Margin
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
4.2%
1.7%
Q3 25
-6.7%
-1.1%
Q2 25
-9.9%
-4.2%
Q1 25
4.3%
-8.2%
Q4 24
7.7%
4.8%
Q3 24
-41.4%
-6.5%
Q2 24
-21.7%
-12.3%
Q1 24
-2.2%
-20.3%
EPS (diluted)
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$0.72
$0.04
Q3 25
$-0.54
$-0.02
Q2 25
$2.97
$-0.06
Q1 25
$0.59
$-0.10
Q4 24
$1.63
$0.10
Q3 24
$-7.69
$-0.09
Q2 24
$-15.68
$-0.16
Q1 24
$-3.49
$-0.23

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$11.7M
$319.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$122.5M
$197.1M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$283.2M
$804.6M
Total Assets
$1.1B
$1.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×
0.24×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$11.7M
$319.8M
Q3 25
$7.3M
$385.2M
Q2 25
$9.1M
$365.3M
Q1 25
$9.2M
$364.4M
Q4 24
$11.6M
$366.2M
Q3 24
$8.2M
$418.5M
Q2 24
$10.5M
$154.7M
Q1 24
$8.1M
$141.6M
Total Debt
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$122.5M
$197.1M
Q3 25
$170.0M
$196.9M
Q2 25
$103.1M
$196.7M
Q1 25
$141.2M
$196.5M
Q4 24
$177.6M
$196.3M
Q3 24
$221.9M
$196.1M
Q2 24
$196.3M
$184.4M
Q1 24
$30.2M
$184.2M
Stockholders' Equity
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$283.2M
$804.6M
Q3 25
$256.5M
$689.2M
Q2 25
$272.2M
$673.3M
Q1 25
$292.9M
$676.6M
Q4 24
$211.4M
$676.8M
Q3 24
$149.8M
$474.9M
Q2 24
$80.4M
$217.0M
Q1 24
$121.5M
$191.6M
Total Assets
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q3 25
$950.8M
$1.2B
Q2 25
$790.3M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$1.1B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$1.1B
Q3 24
$973.2M
$869.1M
Q2 24
$909.9M
$583.9M
Q1 24
$1.2B
$550.3M
Debt / Equity
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
0.43×
0.24×
Q3 25
0.66×
0.29×
Q2 25
0.38×
0.29×
Q1 25
0.48×
0.29×
Q4 24
0.84×
0.29×
Q3 24
1.48×
0.41×
Q2 24
2.44×
0.85×
Q1 24
0.25×
0.96×

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
ZETA
ZETA
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$66.2M
$64.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$61.9M
$60.9M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.4%
15.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
0.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.65×
9.81×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-4.6M
$185.1M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$66.2M
$64.1M
Q3 25
$-67.6M
$57.9M
Q2 25
$52.6M
$42.0M
Q1 25
$-41.9M
$34.8M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$43.7M
Q3 24
$-143.5M
$34.4M
Q2 24
$81.7M
$31.1M
Q1 24
$-35.8M
$24.7M
Free Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
$61.9M
$60.9M
Q3 25
$-71.3M
$52.4M
Q2 25
$49.5M
$39.7M
Q1 25
$-44.7M
$32.1M
Q4 24
$44.4M
$35.4M
Q3 24
$-147.5M
$29.5M
Q2 24
$79.1M
$24.4M
Q1 24
$-39.0M
$18.9M
FCF Margin
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
10.4%
15.4%
Q3 25
-26.0%
15.6%
Q2 25
21.3%
12.9%
Q1 25
-10.7%
12.1%
Q4 24
7.9%
11.3%
Q3 24
-58.8%
11.0%
Q2 24
41.1%
10.7%
Q1 24
-9.4%
9.7%
Capex Intensity
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
0.7%
0.8%
Q3 25
1.4%
1.6%
Q2 25
1.3%
0.8%
Q1 25
0.7%
1.0%
Q4 24
0.5%
2.6%
Q3 24
1.6%
1.8%
Q2 24
1.4%
3.0%
Q1 24
0.8%
3.0%
Cash Conversion
BNED
BNED
ZETA
ZETA
Q4 25
2.65×
9.81×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
-2.34×
Q4 24
1.10×
2.87×
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

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%

ZETA
ZETA

Segment breakdown not available.

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