# Dave & Buster’s New Leaders Aim to Reverse Slide

> Dave & Buster’s new leadership targets reversing revenue decline with improved store sales and cash flow.
- Title: Dave & Buster’s New Leaders Aim to Reverse Slide | Shortify
- Summary: Dave & Buster’s new leadership targets reversing revenue decline with improved store sales and cash flow. New CEO Darin Harper’s strategy shows early signs…
- Keywords: dave and busters, darin harper, seahawks, nfl, play, revenue, comparable sales, free cash flow, ceo, leadership change, stock performance, business
- Source: Yahoo Finance — https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/dave-buster-play-bets-leaders-144539009.html
- Published: 2026-09-16T14:45:39+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: dave and busters, darin harper, seahawks, nfl, play, revenue, comparable sales, free cash flow, ceo, leadership change, stock performance, business
## Q3 Results Show Mixed Signals
Dave & Buster's reported second-quarter revenue down 2.4% to $544.1 million with a net loss of $12.5 million.

> Revenue fell, and the company posted a net loss for the period ended August 4.
## Comparable Sales Improving
Comparable store sales fell 5.4% in Q1 but improved to 1.6% decline in July, with food sales up 7.6% for five straight quarters.

> Comparable sales, which had been sliding for more than a year, kept getting less bad every month from June through the first five weeks of the third quarter.
## New Leadership Push
New CEO Darin Harper added CMO, COO, CTO, and CLO since taking over, launching 10 new games including Mandalorian and Stranger Things tie-ins.

> Behind that shift sits a rebuilt leadership bench. Dave & Buster's went more than a year without a chief marketing officer, and Harper has since added a CMO, a chief operations officer, a chief technology officer, and a chief legal officer since taking over.
## Cash Flow Turnaround
Adjusted free cash flow swung from negative $36.5 million to positive $19.5 million, a $56 million improvement in the first half of 2026.

> Net capital spending dropped to $127.6 million through the first half of the year from $155.4 million, and adjusted free cash flow swung to positive $19.5 million from negative $36.5 million, a $56 million improvement.
## Economic Pressure Impact
Harper noted economic pressure has hit lower-income customers harder, with noncash deferral costs expected to persist into Q3.

> Harper pointed to a specific culprit, saying economic pressure has hit the lower-income consumer harder than other customer groups.
## Stock Market Skepticism
Short interest at 32.03% of float signals heavy skepticism, while the stock trades at a forward P/E of 8.76.

> The stock trades at a forward P/E of just 8.76, as of September 16, cheap even for a company mid-turnaround.
## Key takeaway

New CEO Darin Harper’s strategy shows early signs of improvement in comparable sales and free cash flow.