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Side-by-side financial comparison of MIDDLEBY Corp (MIDD) and Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (PLAY). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

MIDDLEBY Corp is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($866.4M vs $448.2M, roughly 1.9× Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.). MIDDLEBY Corp runs the higher net margin — 4.3% vs -9.4%, a 13.7% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (-1.1% vs -30.6%). MIDDLEBY Corp produced more free cash flow last quarter ($165.5M vs $-20.6M). Over the past eight quarters, MIDDLEBY Corp's revenue compounded faster (-3.3% CAGR vs -13.5%).

The Middleby Corporation is a publicly traded American company based in Elgin, Illinois. The company manufactures commercial cooking equipment, industrial processing equipment, and residential appliances. The commercial cooking equipment side of Middleby does business with 97 out of the top 100 food service chains in the United States and internationally.

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's location has a full-service restaurant, full bar, and a video arcade, the latter of which is known as the "Million Dollar Midway". As of February 2024, the company has 158 locations in the United States, as well as two in Puerto Rico and two in Canada.

MIDD vs PLAY — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
MIDD
MIDD
1.9× larger
MIDD
$866.4M
$448.2M
PLAY
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PLAY
PLAY
+29.5% gap
PLAY
-1.1%
-30.6%
MIDD
Higher net margin
MIDD
MIDD
13.7% more per $
MIDD
4.3%
-9.4%
PLAY
More free cash flow
MIDD
MIDD
$186.1M more FCF
MIDD
$165.5M
$-20.6M
PLAY
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
MIDD
MIDD
Annualised
MIDD
-3.3%
-13.5%
PLAY

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q3 FY2026

Metric
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Revenue
$866.4M
$448.2M
Net Profit
$36.9M
$-42.1M
Gross Margin
38.8%
85.8%
Operating Margin
17.3%
-3.6%
Net Margin
4.3%
-9.4%
Revenue YoY
-30.6%
-1.1%
Net Profit YoY
-67.1%
-28.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.74
$-1.22

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
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$866.4M
$448.2M
Q3 25
$982.1M
$557.4M
Q2 25
$977.9M
$567.7M
Q1 25
$906.6M
$534.5M
Q4 24
$1.0B
$453.0M
Q3 24
$942.8M
$557.1M
Q2 24
$991.5M
$588.1M
Q1 24
$926.9M
$599.0M
Net Profit
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$36.9M
$-42.1M
Q3 25
$-513.0M
$11.4M
Q2 25
$106.0M
$21.7M
Q1 25
$92.4M
$9.3M
Q4 24
$112.3M
$-32.7M
Q3 24
$114.2M
$40.3M
Q2 24
$115.4M
$41.4M
Q1 24
$86.6M
$36.1M
Gross Margin
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
38.8%
85.8%
Q3 25
36.8%
86.3%
Q2 25
38.0%
85.5%
Q1 25
38.2%
85.5%
Q4 24
38.4%
85.0%
Q3 24
37.7%
85.3%
Q2 24
38.3%
85.2%
Q1 24
37.4%
84.1%
Operating Margin
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
17.3%
-3.6%
Q3 25
-56.4%
9.5%
Q2 25
15.9%
11.1%
Q1 25
15.5%
8.3%
Q4 24
16.8%
1.4%
Q3 24
18.4%
15.2%
Q2 24
17.7%
14.5%
Q1 24
14.8%
14.9%
Net Margin
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
4.3%
-9.4%
Q3 25
-52.2%
2.0%
Q2 25
10.8%
3.8%
Q1 25
10.2%
1.7%
Q4 24
11.1%
-7.2%
Q3 24
12.1%
7.2%
Q2 24
11.6%
7.0%
Q1 24
9.3%
6.0%
EPS (diluted)
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$0.74
$-1.22
Q3 25
$-10.15
$0.32
Q2 25
$1.99
$0.62
Q1 25
$1.69
$0.32
Q4 24
$2.07
$-0.84
Q3 24
$2.11
$0.99
Q2 24
$2.13
$0.99
Q1 24
$1.59
$0.95

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$222.2M
$13.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$2.2B
$1.6B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$2.8B
$130.8M
Total Assets
$6.3B
$4.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.78×
12.17×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$222.2M
$13.6M
Q3 25
$175.1M
$12.0M
Q2 25
$511.5M
$11.9M
Q1 25
$745.1M
$6.9M
Q4 24
$689.5M
$8.6M
Q3 24
$606.0M
$13.1M
Q2 24
$459.5M
$32.1M
Q1 24
$341.0M
$37.3M
Total Debt
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$2.2B
$1.6B
Q3 25
$1.6B
Q2 25
$1.6B
Q1 25
$1.5B
Q4 24
$2.4B
$1.5B
Q3 24
$1.3B
Q2 24
$1.3B
Q1 24
$1.3B
Stockholders' Equity
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$2.8B
$130.8M
Q3 25
$2.9B
$166.2M
Q2 25
$3.6B
$146.8M
Q1 25
$3.7B
$145.8M
Q4 24
$3.6B
$226.6M
Q3 24
$3.6B
$284.4M
Q2 24
$3.4B
$292.5M
Q1 24
$3.3B
$251.2M
Total Assets
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$6.3B
$4.1B
Q3 25
$6.4B
$4.1B
Q2 25
$7.3B
$4.1B
Q1 25
$7.4B
$4.0B
Q4 24
$7.3B
$3.9B
Q3 24
$7.2B
$3.8B
Q2 24
$7.0B
$3.8B
Q1 24
$6.9B
$3.8B
Debt / Equity
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
0.78×
12.17×
Q3 25
9.57×
Q2 25
10.98×
Q1 25
10.45×
Q4 24
0.66×
6.58×
Q3 24
4.72×
Q2 24
4.58×
Q1 24
5.33×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$58.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$165.5M
$-20.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
19.1%
-4.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.5%
17.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$530.1M
$-195.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$58.0M
Q3 25
$176.3M
$34.0M
Q2 25
$122.0M
$95.8M
Q1 25
$141.1M
$108.9M
Q4 24
$239.7M
$-7.2M
Q3 24
$156.7M
$101.8M
Q2 24
$149.5M
$108.8M
Q1 24
$140.9M
$97.2M
Free Cash Flow
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
$165.5M
$-20.6M
Q3 25
$156.1M
$-55.2M
Q2 25
$101.1M
$-58.8M
Q1 25
$107.4M
$-61.0M
Q4 24
$226.6M
$-138.4M
Q3 24
$145.2M
$-14.3M
Q2 24
$138.6M
$-4.2M
Q1 24
$127.2M
$-25.4M
FCF Margin
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
19.1%
-4.6%
Q3 25
15.9%
-9.9%
Q2 25
10.3%
-10.4%
Q1 25
11.8%
-11.4%
Q4 24
22.3%
-30.6%
Q3 24
15.4%
-2.6%
Q2 24
14.0%
-0.7%
Q1 24
13.7%
-4.2%
Capex Intensity
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
1.5%
17.5%
Q3 25
2.1%
16.0%
Q2 25
2.1%
27.2%
Q1 25
3.7%
31.8%
Q4 24
1.3%
29.0%
Q3 24
1.2%
20.8%
Q2 24
1.1%
19.2%
Q1 24
1.5%
20.5%
Cash Conversion
MIDD
MIDD
PLAY
PLAY
Q4 25
Q3 25
2.98×
Q2 25
1.15×
4.41×
Q1 25
1.53×
11.71×
Q4 24
2.13×
Q3 24
1.37×
2.53×
Q2 24
1.30×
2.63×
Q1 24
1.63×
2.69×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

MIDD
MIDD

Segment breakdown not available.

PLAY
PLAY

Game Play Credit Usage$273.1M61%
Food And Nonalcoholic Beverages$115.1M26%
Alcoholic Beverage$53.7M12%
Other Entertainment$6.3M1%
Gift Card Revenue$3.5M1%

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