Barnes & Noble Education Announces Preliminary Full-Year Fiscal 2025 Revenue Expected To Be $1.6B; Preliminary, Unaudited Revenue For The First Six Months Of Fiscal 2026 Is Expected To Be ~$933M

FY2025 Preliminary Financial Results

Full-year preliminary (unaudited) revenue in fiscal 2025 is expected to be $1.6 billion, an increase of $40.8 million, or 2.6%, over the prior year. Gross Comparable Store Sales are expected to increase by $116.9 million, or 7.5%, year-over-year.

Revenues from BNC First Day programs are expected to increase by $119.9 million, or 25.3%, year-over-year, as First Day® Complete continues to see strong growth in institutional adoption. A total of 191 campus stores utilized First Day Complete in the spring 2025 academic term with a total enrollment of approximately 957,000* undergraduate and graduate students, up 19.0% from 803,000 in the prior year.

Full-year fiscal 2025 net loss (unaudited) is expected to be in the $(68.0) to $(62.0) million range compared to an expected net loss in the $(78.0) to $(72.0) million range (as restated) in the prior year. The fiscal 2025 net loss includes a $55.2 million non-cash loss related to the extinguishment of debt. Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2025 is expected to range from $55.0 to $63.0 million, an increase of $15.0 to $29.0 million, from the $34.0 to $40.0 million range in the prior fiscal year (as restated).

We expect to report total debt at year-end of $103.1 million, compared to $196.3 million on April 27, 2024. After subtracting $9.1 million of cash on hand, total net debt is expected to be $94.0 million, representing a $91.8 million year-over-year decrease. The Company's net working capital position is also expected to substantially improve to positive $188.9 million from $46.1 million last year, while outstanding short-term payables, accrued liabilities, and current operating lease liabilities are expected to decrease by $194.0 million from last year.

First Half of FY2026 Preliminary Financial Results

The Company's preliminary, unaudited revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2026 is expected to be approximately $933.0 million, an increase of approximately 7.8% year-over-year. The Company's preliminary, unaudited net income for the first half of fiscal 2026 is expected to range from $3.0 to $8.0 million, an anticipated improvement of $62.0 to $73.0 million over net loss of $(65.0) to $(59.0) for the first six months of fiscal 2025 (preliminary, unaudited, as restated), driven by comparable store top-line growth and continued cost management.

The Company's preliminary, unaudited Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $32.0 to $42.0 million as compared to $30.0 to $36.0 million of Adjusted EBITDA in the first six months of fiscal 2025 (preliminary, unaudited, as restated). Total Net Debt is expected to be $110.8 million at the end of 2Q Fiscal 2026, a $55.2 million decrease compared to the end of the second fiscal quarter in fiscal 2025.