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The Buckle, Inc.

Rank #52Capital Return

BKE · NYSE · Consumer Cyclical

The Buckle, Inc. (BKE) — Rank #52 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.61) · ROE 45.7% · Piotroski F-Score 4 / 9.

As-of 2026-09-15 · 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

Price History

BKE+72.4% · +11.5% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

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

Market Cap

$2.05B

P/E (annual)

9.6

P/S (annual)

1.6

P/B

4.5

P/OCF (annual)

8.2

Shareholder Yield

10.2%

Employees

2,900

Industry

Apparel Retail

Exchange

NYSE

Signal Flags

4 green
Revenue growth acceleratingGrowth rate increasing year over year
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Deferred revenue growingRevenue and deferred revenue both growing — retention signal
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 1-quarter streak

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.61
Return on equity
45.7%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
1.29
Current ratio
2.04×
Net cash
$323.80M

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%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 3/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

-2.1%

incredible deal

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Dilution drag: 0.8% — per-share value needs a total required return of -1.4% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 2.0%

within its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

-5.8%

r = 10% (base)

-2.1%

r = 12%

1.1%

Net debt / market cap: -16.0%

Base FCF: $205.8M3Y mean FCF: $207.6M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

12.3xExpensive
5.9xmed 9.3x14.8x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

2.0xExpensive
0.7xmed 1.3x2.1x

P / B

Price / book value per share

6.1xExpensive
1.6xmed 4.6x6.1x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

4.1xExpensive
1.6xmed 2.6x4.8x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

12.5xExpensive
5.0xmed 8.6x12.5x

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

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.61

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

2nd of 6 SIC 56 peers

Return on equity

45.7%

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%

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

1.29

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

Current ratio

2.04×

3rd of 6 SIC 56 peers

Quick ratio

1.29×

Net cash

$323.80M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$205.78M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

-0.02

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

—

Stock-based comp intensity.

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 1.29 · IC N/A1/5 Weak

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

4 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Lifecycle Phase History

20212026
Value
Hypergrowth
Capital Return
Decline
View full financial statements →