Dave & Buster's Entertainment, PLAY

Competitive advantage analysis · communication-services

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
47/100
Developing

Ranked against 55 peers in Entertainment

About Dave & Buster's Entertainment,

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. owns and operates entertainment and dining venues for adults and families in North America. Its venues offer a menu of entrées and appetizers, as well as a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages; and an assortment of entertainment attractions centered on playing games and watching live sports, and other televised events. The company also offers … Full PLAY analysis →

Key strengths

  • Scale Supporting Profitability Profitability at scale is strong (score 0.79), demonstrating competitive advantages.
  • Operating Expense Control OpEx growth is controlled (score 0.64), demonstrating operating leverage.

Key risks

  • Elevated Debt Risk Debt serviceability is weak (score 0.39), raising refinancing risk.
  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.06), raising questions about short-term obligations.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Moderate
70
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Signals, strengths and risks for Pricing Power

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Signals, strengths and risks for Cost Advantage

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Signals, strengths and risks for Customer Stickiness

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Signals, strengths and risks for Capital Efficiency

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Signals, strengths and risks for Resilience

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Signals, strengths and risks for Scale & Market Position

Where PLAY ranks in Entertainment

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, ranks #23 of 56 scored companies in Entertainment by moat score — the top 41%. The widest moat in the group is Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) at 85/100.

# Company Moat score Rating
19 Marcus Corporation (The) MCS 53/100 Moderate
20 Roku, Inc. ROKU 53/100 Moderate
21 Manchester MANU 52/100 Moderate
22 Adara Acquisition Corp. Redeema AENTW 50/100 Moderate
23 Dave & Buster's Entertainment, PLAY 47/100 Developing
24 iQIYI, Inc. IQ 47/100 Developing
25 HUYA Inc. HUYA 46/100 Developing
26 Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. - WBD 45/100 Developing
27 Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. EDR 45/100 Developing

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How PLAY scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 70 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 52 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 40 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 25 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 33 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 59 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding PLAY's moat

What is Dave & Buster's Entertainment, 's moat score?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, (PLAY) scores 47 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as developing. It ranks #23 of 56 scored companies in Entertainment, the top 41%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 55 companies in Entertainment. Its strongest defense is Pricing Power (70/100) and its weakest is Capital Efficiency (25/100).

How does Dave & Buster's Entertainment, compare with other Entertainment companies?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment, ranks #23 of 56 scored companies in Entertainment by moat score. The widest moat in Entertainment is Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) at 85/100. The companies ranked closest are Adara Acquisition Corp. Redeema (AENTW) at 50 just above it and iQIYI, Inc. (IQ) at 47 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 55 companies in Entertainment. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Dave & Buster's Entertainment, scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Dave & Buster's Entertainment, ?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and PLAY scores: Pricing Power (70), Cost Advantage (52), Customer Stickiness (40), Capital Efficiency (25), Resilience (33), Scale & Market Position (59). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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