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The Buckle, Inc.

Rank #53Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

BKE · NYSE · Consumer Cyclical

The Buckle, Inc. (BKE) — Rank #53 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.58) · ROE 42.9% · Piotroski F-Score 4 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000885245 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

The Buckle, Inc. operates as a retailer of casual apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Buckle and Buckle Youth brands in the United States.

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The company markets a selection of brand name casual apparel, including denims, other casual bottoms, tops, sportswear, outerwear, accessories, and footwear, as well as private label merchandise comprising the BKE, Buckle Black, Ace High, Daytrip, Departwest, FITZ + EDDI, Freshwear, Gentry Country, Gilded Intent, Gimmicks, J.B. Holt, Maven Co-op, Modish Rebel, Nova Industries, Outpost Makers, Reclaim, Salvage, Sterling & Stitch, Veece, Willow & Root, 33 Coastal, and Funk Lagoon brands. It also provides services, such as hemming, gift-packaging, layaways, a guest loyalty program, the Buckle private label credit card, personalized stylist services, and a special-order system that allows stores to obtain specifically requested merchandise from other company stores or from its online order fulfillment center. The company was formerly known as Mills Clothing, Inc. and changed its name to The Buckle, Inc. in April 1991. The Buckle, Inc.

was incorporated in 1948 and is headquartered in Kearney, Nebraska.

Industry
Apparel Retail
Sector
Consumer Cyclical
State
NE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
January 30
Website
buckle.com

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

2,900

Industry

Apparel Retail

Exchange

NYSE

11/11

Flags passed

BKE passes 11/11 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Deferred revenue growing · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

No data SBC and margin — not counted as a pass.

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.58
Return on equity
42.9%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.24
Current ratio
2.08×
Net cash
$322.91M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
—

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
6.6%
Piotroski F-Score
4 / 9
Share dilution
0.8%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 0.58

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.58

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

2nd of 6 SIC 56 peers

Return on equity

42.9%

Gross margin

49.0%

2nd of 6 SIC 56 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

6.6%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2023202420252026
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-1.2%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

7.6%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

-6.3%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

-1.0%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 2% below net income

Free cash flow

$205.78M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-1.9%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

—

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $322.91M, F-Score 4/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.24

4th of 6 SIC 56 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.08×

3rd of 6 SIC 56 peers

Quick ratio

1.28×

Net cash

$322.91M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

4 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

0.8 / 5

Weak
Payout ratio
107.3%0/5 Weak
FCF coverage
0.91×1/5 Weak
Dividend growth streak
2 yr1/5 Weak
Balance-sheet health
D/E 1.24 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.0 / 5

Fair
Share count trend
0.8%2/5 Fair
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
2 yr1/5 Weak
Net debt trajectory
-1.2%3/5 Good

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Value
Hypergrowth
Capital Return
Decline

Price History

BKE+74.1% · +11.7% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR

View full financial statements →

Source filings on SEC EDGAR: 10-K annual reports · 10-Q quarterly reports