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A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt. According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
The historical rank and industry rank for Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA or its related term are showing as below:
BNED'
s Debt-to-EBITDA Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -79.48 Med: -2.35 Max: 19.58
Current: 3.5
During the past 13 years, the highest Debt-to-EBITDA Ratio of Barnes & Noble Education was 19.58. The lowest was -79.48. And the median was -2.35.
BNED's Debt-to-EBITDA is ranked worse than 66.7% of 910
companies
in the Retail - Cyclical industry
Industry Median: 2.275
vs BNED: 3.50
A high Debt-to-EBITDA ratio generally means that a company may spend more time to paying off its debt.
According to Joel Tillinghast's BIG MONEY THINKS SMALL: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing, a ratio of Debt-to-EBITDA exceeding four is usually considered scary unless tangible assets cover the debt.
Barnes & Noble Education Debt-to-EBITDA Related Terms
Barnes & Noble Education Debt-to-EBITDA Historical Data
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
BNED vs BBW, FLWS, ONEW: Debt-to-EBITDA Comparison
For the Specialty Retail subindustry, Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA, along with its competitors' market caps and Debt-to-EBITDA data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Barnes & Noble Education Debt-to-EBITDA vs Retail - Cyclical Industry
For the Retail - Cyclical industry and Consumer Cyclical sector, Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA falls into.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
In the calculation of annual Debt-to-EBITDA, the EBITDA of the last fiscal year is used. In calculating the annualized quarterly data,
the EBITDA data used here is four times the quarterly (Apr. 2026) EBITDA data.
Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) has a Debt-to-EBITDA of 6.06 as of Apr. 2026. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Barnes & Noble Education. According to the industry distribution chart, Barnes & Noble Education ranks #607 out of 910 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, placing it in the top 66.7%.
Is Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA too high?
Barnes & Noble Education's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 6.06. The Retail - Cyclical industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.28. Barnes & Noble Education's value of 6.06 is 166.4% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Barnes & Noble Education ranks #607 out of 910 companies in the Retail - Cyclical industry, which is below the industry midpoint. Overall, Barnes & Noble Education has a GF Score™ of 51/100 and is considered Significantly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Barnes & Noble Education's Debt-to-EBITDA compare to BBW and FLWS?
According to the Retail - Cyclical industry distribution chart, Barnes & Noble Education ranks #607 out of 910 companies for Debt-to-EBITDA. This places Barnes & Noble Education in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.28. Barnes & Noble Education's value of 6.06 is 166.4% above this benchmark. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Debt-to-EBITDA for a Retail - Cyclical company?
The median Debt-to-EBITDA among Retail - Cyclical companies is 2.28, based on 910 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Debt-to-EBITDA significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Debt-to-EBITDA should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Barnes & Noble Education's current Debt-to-EBITDA of 6.06 is 166.4% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Debt-to-EBITDA mean?
A high Debt-to-EBITDA can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Debt-to-EBITDA ratio represents the ratio of total debt to total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. View historical data on Barnes & Noble Education. For the Retail - Cyclical industry, the median Debt-to-EBITDA is 2.28 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Barnes & Noble Education's current Debt-to-EBITDA is 6.06. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Barnes & Noble Education stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) is currently considered Significantly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $2.40, compared to a current price of $12.03 — trading 401.3% above its estimated fair value. The current Debt-to-EBITDA is 6.06 and 166.4% above the Retail - Cyclical industry median of 2.28. Barnes & Noble Education's overall GF Score™ is 51/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Debt-to-EBITDA calculated?
Debt-to-EBITDA is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Barnes & Noble Education (BNED), the current Debt-to-EBITDA is 6.06 as of Apr. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is Barnes & Noble Education (BNED) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Barnes & Noble Education stock appears to be overvalued.
The current stock price of $12.03 is trading 401.3% above its estimated GF Value™ of $2.40.
GuruFocus considers Barnes & Noble Education to be Significantly Overvalued.
Key valuation signals for BNED:
Debt-to-EBITDA: 6.06
GF Value™: $2.40 vs. price of $12.03 (401.3% above fair value)
Industry Position: 166.4% above the Retail - Cyclical median (#607 of 910)
No single metric tells the full story. See the BNED stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
Barnes & Noble Education Inc is a contract operator of physical and virtual bookstores for college and university campuses and K-12 institutions across the United States. The company is also a textbook wholesaler and inventory management hardware and software provider. It offers course materials through physical and online bookstores, including new and used print textbooks, rental options, digital textbooks, and publisher-hosted digital courseware. Products are also offered directly to students through Textbooks.com. The majority of the company's revenue is derived from the sale of products through its bookstore locations, including virtual bookstores, and the bookstore affiliated e-commerce websites.
51GF Score
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