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

Zscaler, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($788.1M vs $598.2M, roughly 1.3× Barnes & Noble Education, Inc.). Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. runs the higher net margin — 4.2% vs -1.5%, a 5.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Zscaler, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (25.5% vs 6.9%). Zscaler, Inc. produced more free cash flow last quarter ($431.0M vs $61.9M). Over the past eight quarters, Zscaler, Inc.'s revenue compounded faster (22.5% 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.

Zscaler, Inc. is an American cloud security company based in San Jose, California. The company offers cloud-based services to protect enterprise networks and data.

BNED vs ZS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
ZS
ZS
1.3× larger
ZS
$788.1M
$598.2M
BNED
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
ZS
ZS
+18.6% gap
ZS
25.5%
6.9%
BNED
Higher net margin
BNED
BNED
5.7% more per $
BNED
4.2%
-1.5%
ZS
More free cash flow
ZS
ZS
$369.0M more FCF
ZS
$431.0M
$61.9M
BNED
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ZS
ZS
Annualised
ZS
22.5%
20.0%
BNED

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Revenue
$598.2M
$788.1M
Net Profit
$25.0M
$-11.6M
Gross Margin
21.7%
76.6%
Operating Margin
6.8%
-4.6%
Net Margin
4.2%
-1.5%
Revenue YoY
6.9%
25.5%
Net Profit YoY
-49.7%
3.6%
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
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$598.2M
$788.1M
Q3 25
$274.2M
$719.2M
Q2 25
$233.0M
$678.0M
Q1 25
$419.7M
$647.9M
Q4 24
$559.7M
$628.0M
Q3 24
$250.9M
$592.9M
Q2 24
$192.7M
$553.2M
Q1 24
$415.4M
$525.0M
Net Profit
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$25.0M
$-11.6M
Q3 25
$-18.3M
$-17.6M
Q2 25
$-23.0M
$-4.1M
Q1 25
$17.9M
$-7.7M
Q4 24
$43.2M
$-12.1M
Q3 24
$-103.9M
$-14.9M
Q2 24
$-41.9M
$19.1M
Q1 24
$-9.3M
$-28.5M
Gross Margin
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
21.7%
76.6%
Q3 25
20.2%
76.1%
Q2 25
30.3%
77.0%
Q1 25
22.3%
77.1%
Q4 24
23.0%
77.5%
Q3 24
17.9%
78.0%
Q2 24
28.7%
78.6%
Q1 24
24.2%
77.7%
Operating Margin
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
6.8%
-4.6%
Q3 25
-8.4%
-4.5%
Q2 25
-4.9%
-3.7%
Q1 25
4.5%
-6.2%
Q4 24
8.4%
-4.9%
Q3 24
-15.4%
-4.5%
Q2 24
-16.3%
-0.5%
Q1 24
0.4%
-8.7%
Net Margin
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
4.2%
-1.5%
Q3 25
-6.7%
-2.4%
Q2 25
-9.9%
-0.6%
Q1 25
4.3%
-1.2%
Q4 24
7.7%
-1.9%
Q3 24
-41.4%
-2.5%
Q2 24
-21.7%
3.5%
Q1 24
-2.2%
-5.4%
EPS (diluted)
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$0.72
$-0.07
Q3 25
$-0.54
$-0.11
Q2 25
$2.97
$-0.03
Q1 25
$0.59
$-0.05
Q4 24
$1.63
$-0.08
Q3 24
$-7.69
$-0.09
Q2 24
$-15.68
$0.12
Q1 24
$-3.49
$-0.19

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$11.7M
$1.3B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$122.5M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$283.2M
$2.0B
Total Assets
$1.1B
$6.5B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.43×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$11.7M
$1.3B
Q3 25
$7.3M
$2.4B
Q2 25
$9.1M
$2.0B
Q1 25
$9.2M
$1.8B
Q4 24
$11.6M
$1.6B
Q3 24
$8.2M
$1.4B
Q2 24
$10.5M
$1.3B
Q1 24
$8.1M
$1.4B
Total Debt
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$122.5M
Q3 25
$170.0M
Q2 25
$103.1M
$1.1B
Q1 25
$141.2M
$1.1B
Q4 24
$177.6M
$1.1B
Q3 24
$221.9M
$1.1B
Q2 24
$196.3M
$1.1B
Q1 24
$30.2M
$1.1B
Stockholders' Equity
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$283.2M
$2.0B
Q3 25
$256.5M
$1.8B
Q2 25
$272.2M
$1.8B
Q1 25
$292.9M
$1.6B
Q4 24
$211.4M
$1.4B
Q3 24
$149.8M
$1.3B
Q2 24
$80.4M
$1.1B
Q1 24
$121.5M
$958.9M
Total Assets
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$1.1B
$6.5B
Q3 25
$950.8M
$6.4B
Q2 25
$790.3M
$5.3B
Q1 25
$1.1B
$5.0B
Q4 24
$1.0B
$4.7B
Q3 24
$973.2M
$4.7B
Q2 24
$909.9M
$4.2B
Q1 24
$1.2B
$3.9B
Debt / Equity
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
0.43×
Q3 25
0.66×
Q2 25
0.38×
0.64×
Q1 25
0.48×
0.71×
Q4 24
0.84×
0.80×
Q3 24
1.48×
0.90×
Q2 24
2.44×
1.04×
Q1 24
0.25×
1.19×

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
ZS
ZS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$66.2M
$448.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$61.9M
$431.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
10.4%
54.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.7%
2.2%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
2.65×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-4.6M
$924.9M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$66.2M
$448.3M
Q3 25
$-67.6M
$250.6M
Q2 25
$52.6M
$211.1M
Q1 25
$-41.9M
$179.4M
Q4 24
$47.4M
$331.3M
Q3 24
$-143.5M
$203.6M
Q2 24
$81.7M
$173.4M
Q1 24
$-35.8M
$142.1M
Free Cash Flow
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
$61.9M
$431.0M
Q3 25
$-71.3M
$190.6M
Q2 25
$49.5M
$138.9M
Q1 25
$-44.7M
$164.4M
Q4 24
$44.4M
$314.3M
Q3 24
$-147.5M
$154.2M
Q2 24
$79.1M
$137.8M
Q1 24
$-39.0M
$111.2M
FCF Margin
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
10.4%
54.7%
Q3 25
-26.0%
26.5%
Q2 25
21.3%
20.5%
Q1 25
-10.7%
25.4%
Q4 24
7.9%
50.1%
Q3 24
-58.8%
26.0%
Q2 24
41.1%
24.9%
Q1 24
-9.4%
21.2%
Capex Intensity
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
0.7%
2.2%
Q3 25
1.4%
8.3%
Q2 25
1.3%
10.6%
Q1 25
0.7%
2.3%
Q4 24
0.5%
2.7%
Q3 24
1.6%
8.3%
Q2 24
1.4%
6.4%
Q1 24
0.8%
5.9%
Cash Conversion
BNED
BNED
ZS
ZS
Q4 25
2.65×
Q3 25
Q2 25
Q1 25
-2.34×
Q4 24
1.10×
Q3 24
Q2 24
9.07×
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%

ZS
ZS

Segment breakdown not available.

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