When you play games, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. One day you might get a $100 million investment, and the next your stock falls before an earnings call. Dave and Buster's ($PLAY) happens to be in that particular scenario right now, because tomorrow, June 11, is the company's next earnings report.
And unfortunately, the last three months for most companies look identical: the Coronavirus pandemic deeply affected our quarterly revenue, forced us to change protocols and guidelines, things shut down, some employees were either let go or furloughed and hopefully, things will bounce back.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate is set at a loss of $0.81 per share, with the expected loss in revenue YoY.
Dave and Buster's has the unenviable position of being both an arcade (that had to temporarily close) and a restaurant without takeout, delivery, or curbside options. The entire point of the establishment is to stay at a D&B the entire time, not leave, play games, have fun, and eat around other people.
That sounds like the wrong business model to have during the outbreak of a deadly virus, but thankfully D&B has been on the rebound ever since March. The stock quadrupled since then, and with investors planning on a massive comeback, some think it's wise to place bets on D&B and wait for the crowds to come back and blow off some steam. Wearing masks, of course.
When D&B locations do open again, countrywide, they'll do it with less help going forward. Job postings went from over 2,000 in early March to 27. We don't have to do the math to tell you that's a 99% drop in openings.
The previous months and the ensuing spike in COVID cases will not be kind to D&B's social media. Twitter (not shown here, try our demo for full access) and Instagram followers have been down this quarter, which was highly unusual for any brand before the pandemic. But a surprising number of companies that once saw online growth are seeing people unfollow and unlike because they might not go back to a store anytime soon.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.