🕹️ As of Jul-25-2025: $32.84 (+2.79%) 🎮 
🏢 Ticker: NASDAQ: PLAY
🎯 Sector: Entertainment, Arcade-Capitalism, Adulting-Optional

🎉 A New Boss, A Fresh Bag of Quarters

DALLAS — July 15, 2025
Dave & Buster’s just hit Insert Coin on a whole new level of leadership. They’ve appointed Tarun Lal as CEO — and this isn’t his first dance with big brands. A 25-year veteran of Yum! Brands and the former President of KFC U.S., Lal knows how to run a fast-paced, high-stakes game (with extra sauce).

🌍 From the U.S. to the Middle East to India, he’s scaled operations, driven innovation, and served up plenty of profitable combos. Will he now revive PLAY? Maybe with a power-up... or some nachos.

📈 Insiders Are Playing the Long Game — With Their Own Money

🤑 Tarun Lal wasted no time putting skin in the game:

And he’s not alone. Executives have been buying up shares over the past year like they just hit a jackpot on Skee-Ball. Here are some notable purchases:

• 🧔 Kevin Sheehan (Interim CEO): +37,735 shares @ $25.48

• 🎯 Michael Griffith (Director): +18,000 shares @ $27.28

• 👨💼 Christopher Morris (Former CEO): +14,912 shares (twice!)

• 💰 Darin Harper (CFO): +13,578 shares @ $38.77

🎯 Wall Street’s Got Game: Institutions Load Up on PLAY

💥 And it’s not just the insiders tapping their PLAY cards. Institutions own a whopping 135.41% of the float — yes, more than the actual number of shares that exist. That’s the financial equivalent of stuffing extra tokens into the arcade machine. Wall Street clearly believes the fun has just begun.

Here are the biggest institutional holders as of Q1 2025:

📌 Bottom line: When this many titans of finance hit “Continue,” it may be worth watching which level PLAY unlocks next.

🔍 For Institutional Ownership breakdown, see here. 

🧮 The Numbers: A Game of Two Halves

🎯 Fiscal 2024:

• Revenue: $2.1B (↓ 3.3%)

• Net Income: $58.3M → EPS: $1.46 (↓ from $126.9M, or $2.88 per diluted share)

• Adjusted EBITDA: $506.2M (↓ 8.9%)

🎯 Q1 2025:

• Revenue: $567.7M (↓ 3.5%)

• Net Income: $21.7M → EPS: $0.62

• Adjusted EBITDA: $136.1M

• 🛠️ Store Operating Income: $162.2M (↓ from $183.2M)

📉 Same-store sales are sliding — but here’s the plot twist...

📊 Trend Reversal? Maybe. Just Maybe.

📈 From February to now, comps are sequentially improving:

• Feb: -11.9%

• Mar: -8.4%

• Apr: -4.3%

• Q2-to-Date: -2.2%

Not a full recovery yet, but it smells like stabilization. Maybe even... acceleration?

👉 Want the full picture? Dive into Dave & Buster’s ($PLAY)'s financials here.

🧠 Let’s Talk Valuation: Expensive or Just Misunderstood?

➡️ TL;DR: Not bargain basement, but not overhyped either. Especially in a market where people are paying 30x for glorified soda companies.

🚀 Strategic Moves: Growth, Buybacks, and Remodels

✔️ 4 new stores (2 new + 1 relocated + 1 more after Q1)
✔️ 13 remodeled locations
✔️ $23.9M in share buybacks in Q1 alone
✔️ $104.1M left on the repurchase plan
✔️ Ended Q1 with $423.2M in liquidity and 3.1x leverage ratio

The company’s playing offense — and maybe even clearing the board for a bigger bonus round.

🧠 So, Should You Add a Little $PLAY?

😟 Risks:

• Sales and profit are under pressure

• Tough competition in the entertainment/restaurant sector

• Macro headwinds (inflation, recession fears)

💡💡💡 Curious about another deep oil exploration play?
Check our takes on UnitedHealth Group or even Oscar Health.

😎 Upside:

• Insiders are buying consistently

• Institutions are overweight

• The new CEO has a proven track record of international turnarounds

• Valuation is starting to look attractive

• Sequential comparable sales are improving

🏁 Final Level: Keep an Eye on the Scoreboard

Will PLAY double in 3–5 years? It’s possible. Will it bounce around like a pinball before then? Almost certainly.

But if you like fun, food, and financial risk with upside, $PLAY might just be the ticker that hits all your buttons.

⚠️ Disclaimer:

We’re all PLAY at FUNanc1al, so naturally, we’re biased. 🕹️🎯

This isn’t investment advice. It’s just a second opinion — and yes, we’re billing your sense of humor. 🎪💸 

Invest at your own risk — and maybe grab a cocktail and some skee-ball while you wait.

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