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

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($448.2M vs $382.7M, roughly 1.2× INNOVATE Corp.). INNOVATE Corp. runs the higher net margin — -1.9% vs -9.4%, a 7.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, INNOVATE Corp. posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (61.7% vs -1.1%). Over the past eight quarters, INNOVATE Corp.'s revenue compounded faster (10.2% CAGR vs -13.5%).

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.

Innovate Corp. is an American public financial services company founded in 1994.

PLAY vs VATE — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PLAY
PLAY
1.2× larger
PLAY
$448.2M
$382.7M
VATE
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
VATE
VATE
+62.8% gap
VATE
61.7%
-1.1%
PLAY
Higher net margin
VATE
VATE
7.5% more per $
VATE
-1.9%
-9.4%
PLAY
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
VATE
VATE
Annualised
VATE
10.2%
-13.5%
PLAY

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Revenue
$448.2M
$382.7M
Net Profit
$-42.1M
$-7.4M
Gross Margin
85.8%
15.4%
Operating Margin
-3.6%
3.7%
Net Margin
-9.4%
-1.9%
Revenue YoY
-1.1%
61.7%
Net Profit YoY
-28.7%
55.4%
EPS (diluted)
$-1.22
$-0.57

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
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$448.2M
$382.7M
Q3 25
$557.4M
$347.1M
Q2 25
$567.7M
$242.0M
Q1 25
$534.5M
$274.2M
Q4 24
$453.0M
$236.6M
Q3 24
$557.1M
$242.2M
Q2 24
$588.1M
$313.1M
Q1 24
$599.0M
$315.2M
Net Profit
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$-42.1M
$-7.4M
Q3 25
$11.4M
$-8.9M
Q2 25
$21.7M
$-19.8M
Q1 25
$9.3M
$-24.5M
Q4 24
$-32.7M
$-16.6M
Q3 24
$40.3M
$-15.0M
Q2 24
$41.4M
$14.4M
Q1 24
$36.1M
$-17.4M
Gross Margin
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
85.8%
15.4%
Q3 25
86.3%
14.3%
Q2 25
85.5%
18.8%
Q1 25
85.5%
16.6%
Q4 24
85.0%
19.6%
Q3 24
85.3%
19.9%
Q2 24
85.2%
21.0%
Q1 24
84.1%
15.4%
Operating Margin
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
-3.6%
3.7%
Q3 25
9.5%
1.8%
Q2 25
11.1%
2.0%
Q1 25
8.3%
1.2%
Q4 24
1.4%
1.1%
Q3 24
15.2%
2.4%
Q2 24
14.5%
9.2%
Q1 24
14.9%
0.9%
Net Margin
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
-9.4%
-1.9%
Q3 25
2.0%
-2.6%
Q2 25
3.8%
-8.2%
Q1 25
1.7%
-8.9%
Q4 24
-7.2%
-7.0%
Q3 24
7.2%
-6.2%
Q2 24
7.0%
4.6%
Q1 24
6.0%
-5.5%
EPS (diluted)
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$-1.22
$-0.57
Q3 25
$0.32
$-0.71
Q2 25
$0.62
$-1.67
Q1 25
$0.32
$-1.89
Q4 24
$-0.84
$-0.72
Q3 24
$0.99
$-1.18
Q2 24
$0.99
$1.03
Q1 24
$0.95
$-2.21

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$13.6M
$112.1M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$1.6B
$80.3M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$130.8M
$-240.1M
Total Assets
$4.1B
$950.1M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
12.17×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$13.6M
$112.1M
Q3 25
$12.0M
$35.5M
Q2 25
$11.9M
$33.4M
Q1 25
$6.9M
$33.3M
Q4 24
$8.6M
$48.8M
Q3 24
$13.1M
$51.0M
Q2 24
$32.1M
$80.2M
Q1 24
$37.3M
$38.4M
Total Debt
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$1.6B
$80.3M
Q3 25
$1.6B
$97.3M
Q2 25
$1.6B
$160.1M
Q1 25
$1.5B
$139.9M
Q4 24
$1.5B
$500.6M
Q3 24
$1.3B
$502.4M
Q2 24
$1.3B
$638.3M
Q1 24
$1.3B
$641.5M
Stockholders' Equity
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$130.8M
$-240.1M
Q3 25
$166.2M
$-233.3M
Q2 25
$146.8M
$-224.8M
Q1 25
$145.8M
$-204.2M
Q4 24
$226.6M
$-180.4M
Q3 24
$284.4M
$-163.1M
Q2 24
$292.5M
$-149.0M
Q1 24
$251.2M
$-184.4M
Total Assets
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$4.1B
$950.1M
Q3 25
$4.1B
$913.2M
Q2 25
$4.1B
$890.9M
Q1 25
$4.0B
$868.0M
Q4 24
$3.9B
$891.1M
Q3 24
$3.8B
$897.2M
Q2 24
$3.8B
$898.9M
Q1 24
$3.8B
$943.5M
Debt / Equity
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
12.17×
Q3 25
9.57×
Q2 25
10.98×
Q1 25
10.45×
Q4 24
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
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$58.0M
$101.1M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$-20.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
-4.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
17.5%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-195.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$58.0M
$101.1M
Q3 25
$34.0M
$19.2M
Q2 25
$95.8M
$40.4M
Q1 25
$108.9M
$-14.1M
Q4 24
$-7.2M
$41.4M
Q3 24
$101.8M
$-28.4M
Q2 24
$108.8M
$21.5M
Q1 24
$97.2M
$-25.4M
Free Cash Flow
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
$-20.6M
Q3 25
$-55.2M
$19.0M
Q2 25
$-58.8M
Q1 25
$-61.0M
$-18.8M
Q4 24
$-138.4M
$34.2M
Q3 24
$-14.3M
$-31.5M
Q2 24
$-4.2M
$18.4M
Q1 24
$-25.4M
$-31.0M
FCF Margin
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
-4.6%
Q3 25
-9.9%
5.5%
Q2 25
-10.4%
Q1 25
-11.4%
-6.9%
Q4 24
-30.6%
14.5%
Q3 24
-2.6%
-13.0%
Q2 24
-0.7%
5.9%
Q1 24
-4.2%
-9.8%
Capex Intensity
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
17.5%
Q3 25
16.0%
0.1%
Q2 25
27.2%
Q1 25
31.8%
1.7%
Q4 24
29.0%
3.0%
Q3 24
20.8%
1.3%
Q2 24
19.2%
1.0%
Q1 24
20.5%
1.8%
Cash Conversion
PLAY
PLAY
VATE
VATE
Q4 25
Q3 25
2.98×
Q2 25
4.41×
Q1 25
11.71×
Q4 24
Q3 24
2.53×
Q2 24
2.63×
1.49×
Q1 24
2.69×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

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%

VATE
VATE

Commercial Revenue$126.1M33%
Industrial Revenue$87.5M23%
Transportation Revenue$58.4M15%
Healthcare Revenue$48.4M13%
Government Revenue$44.3M12%
Energy Revenue$8.0M2%
Broadcast Station Revenue$5.7M1%
Systems And Consumables Revenue$3.1M1%
Leisure Revenue$200.0K0%

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