Dave & Buster's Q4 Earnings: Revenue Miss, EPS Miss, Unwinding 'Mistakes' From Previous Leadership, 'Clear Opportunities' Ahead

Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc PLAY reported fourth-quarter financial results after the market close on Monday. Here’s a look at the key highlights from the quarter.

Q4 Earnings: Dave & Buster’s reported fourth-quarter revenue of $534.5 million, missing analyst estimates of $550.37 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The entertainment and dining company reported adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share, missing estimates of 71 cents per share.

Total revenue decreased 10.8% year-over-year as comparable store sales fell 9.4%. The company noted that the fourth quarter of 2024 had one less week than the fourth quarter of 2023.

Dave & Buster’s said it generated $108.9 million in operating cash flow during the fourth quarter. The company also repurchased approximately five million shares in fiscal 2024, and had approximately $104 million remaining on its buyback as of Monday.

Dave & Buster’s ended the quarter with $6.9 million in cash and $503.5 million of available liquidity under its $650 million revolving credit facility.

“While we are disappointed by our results in the fourth quarter, we are very encouraged by the clear opportunities we have identified over the past few months and the most recent trends in the business since taking actions to unwind mistakes and make appropriate changes,” said Kevin Sheehan, board chair and interim CEO of Dave & Buster’s.

“Previous leadership, while well-intentioned, made significant and ill-advised changes to marketing, food and beverage, operations, remodels and games investment that negatively impacted the business,” said Sheehan.

“The current leadership team has been systematically unwinding these mistakes and pursuing a ‘back to basics’ strategy while making high-confidence improvements to the key areas of the business entirely in line with our previously communicated strategic plan.” 

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Last quarter, Dave & Buster’s announced a CEO transition. The board is currently working with a global executive search firm to find the company’s next CEO. The company did not provide an update on its CEO search in the fourth-quarter release.

Dave & Buster’s said it expects total capital expenditures to be less than $220 million in fiscal-year 2025.

Management will further discuss the quarter on a conference call with investors and analysts at 5 p.m. ET.

PLAY Price Action: Dave & Buster’s Entertainment shares were up 2.66% after hours, trading at $16.62 at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Artography/Shutterstock.