Revenue growth remains under pressure with a recent year-over-year decline of 3.87%, while operating margins frequently fluctuate, recently dipping to 2.7% in 2026Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Jan'26 | Jan'25 | Jan'24 | Jan'23 | Jan'22 | Jan'21 | Jan'20 | Jan'19 | Jan'18 | Jan'17 | Jan'16 | Jan'15 | Jan'14 | Jan'13 | Jan'12 | Jan'11 | Jan'10 | Jan'09 | Jan'08 | Jan'07 | Jan'06 | Jan'05 | Jan'04 | Jan'03 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 2.9B | 2.89B | 3.01B | 3.07B | 3.32B | 3.2B | 2.23B | 3.49B | 3.18B | 2.8B | 2.71B | 2.62B | 2.5B | 2.37B | 2.26B | 2.02B | 1.82B | 1.6B | 1.46B | 1.41B | 1.28B | 1.14B | 961.09M | 791.35M | 644.35M |
| Revenue Growth % | -1.61% | -3.87% | -2.14% | -7.25% | 3.72% | 43.04% | -36.02% | 9.7% | 13.71% | 3.26% | 3.48% | 4.97% | 5.38% | 4.91% | 11.53% | 11.08% | 13.71% | 9.55% | 4.08% | 9.89% | 11.8% | 19.04% | 21.45% | 22.81% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 1.62B | 1.63B | 1.72B | 2.1B | 2.24B | 2.13B | 1.92B | 2.49B | 2.24B | 2.01B | 1.94B | 1.85B | 1.74B | 1.63B | 1.53B | 1.37B | 1.26B | 1.14B | 1.08B | 1.04B | 912.71M | 828.34M | 690.88M | 588.42M | 485.59M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 56.43% | 57.27% | 68.3% | 67.45% | 66.57% | 86.07% | 71.38% | 70.33% | 71.81% | 71.53% | 70.68% | 69.75% | 68.79% | 67.9% | 67.7% | 68.96% | 70.83% | 74.09% | 73.67% | 71.36% | 72.4% | 71.88% | 74.36% | 75.36% |
| Gross Profit | 1.28B | 1.26B | 1.29B | 974.89M | 1.08B | 1.07B | 311.24M | 999.67M | 944.51M | 789.38M | 771.83M | 768.37M | 755.02M | 739.29M | 724.72M | 653.95M | 565.68M | 467.49M | 379.1M | 370.13M | 366.35M | 315.72M | 270.21M | 202.93M | 158.76M |
| Gross Margin % | 44.13% | 43.57% | 42.73% | 31.7% | 32.55% | 33.43% | 13.93% | 28.62% | 29.67% | 28.19% | 28.47% | 29.32% | 30.25% | 31.21% | 32.1% | 32.3% | 31.04% | 29.17% | 25.91% | 26.33% | 28.64% | 27.6% | 28.12% | 25.64% | 24.64% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -1.99% | 31.91% | -9.67% | 0.99% | 243.35% | -68.87% | 5.84% | 19.65% | 2.27% | 0.45% | 1.77% | 2.13% | 2.01% | 10.82% | 15.6% | 21% | 23.32% | 2.42% | 1.03% | 16.04% | 16.84% | 33.16% | 27.82% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 596.07M | 1.21B | 1.25B | 902.49M | 896.38M | 870.68M | 753.28M | 874.75M | 826.04M | 607.72M | 591.82M | 554.82M | 512.89M | 497.9M | 481.8M | 448.58M | 392.1M | 374.04M | 336.29M | 288.81M | 265.64M | 245.61M | 214.1M | 174.87M | 140.97M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 41.7% | 41.57% | 29.35% | 27.04% | 27.24% | 33.71% | 25.05% | 25.95% | 21.71% | 21.83% | 21.17% | 20.55% | 21.02% | 21.34% | 22.16% | 21.52% | 23.34% | 22.99% | 20.55% | 20.77% | 21.47% | 22.28% | 22.1% | 21.88% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 0 | 0 | 1.25B | 1.26B | 888.38M | 867.38M | 744.68M | 857.05M | 814.62M | 622.55M | 598.32M | 554.82M | 701M | 675.59M | 646.23M | 0 | 392.1M | 0 | 0 | 288.81M | 265.64M | 245.61M | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | - | 41.4% | 40.85% | 26.8% | 27.13% | 33.32% | 24.54% | 25.59% | 22.24% | 22.07% | 21.17% | 28.08% | 28.52% | 28.62% | - | 21.52% | - | - | 20.55% | 20.77% | 21.47% | - | - | - |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13.9M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.44% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2M | 1.21B | 5.19M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 753.28M | 874.75M | 0 | -1.89M | 338K | 3.18M | 512.89M | 497.9M | 481.8M | 448.58M | 0 | 374.04M | 336.29M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 214.1M | 174.87M | 140.97M |
| Operating Income | 74.16M | 54.22M | 34.93M | 72.4M | 110.26M | 128.95M | -442.04M | 46.04M | 59.01M | 124.96M | 200.17M | 213.55M | 242.13M | 241.39M | 240.61M | 151.45M | 173.58M | 93.45M | 42.81M | 81.32M | 100.71M | 70.11M | 56.11M | 28.05M | 17.78M |
| Operating Margin % | 2.56% | 1.87% | 1.16% | 2.35% | 3.33% | 4.03% | -19.78% | 1.32% | 1.85% | 4.46% | 7.38% | 8.15% | 9.7% | 10.19% | 10.66% | 7.48% | 9.53% | 5.83% | 2.93% | 5.79% | 7.87% | 6.13% | 5.84% | 3.55% | 2.76% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 55.21% | -51.75% | -34.34% | -14.49% | 129.17% | -1060.05% | -21.97% | -52.78% | -37.57% | -6.27% | -11.8% | 0.31% | 0.32% | 58.87% | -12.75% | 85.74% | 118.29% | -47.35% | -19.26% | 43.65% | 24.96% | 100.01% | 57.77% | - |
| EBITDA | 88.77M | 54.22M | 98.75M | 138.54M | 191.58M | 206.87M | -354.01M | 132.69M | 138.05M | 205.82M | 281.81M | 287.13M | 310.38M | 305.49M | 298.41M | 202.69M | 221.41M | 139.72M | 79.15M | 106.49M | 121.52M | 90.44M | 74.38M | 43.53M | 30.77M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 3.06% | 1.87% | 3.28% | 4.51% | 5.78% | 6.47% | -15.84% | 3.8% | 4.34% | 7.35% | 10.39% | 10.96% | 12.43% | 12.9% | 13.22% | 10.01% | 12.15% | 8.72% | 5.41% | 7.58% | 9.5% | 7.91% | 7.74% | 5.5% | 4.77% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 10.6% | -45.1% | -28.72% | -27.68% | -7.39% | 158.44% | -366.79% | -3.88% | -32.93% | -26.96% | -1.85% | -7.49% | 1.6% | 2.37% | 47.23% | -8.46% | 58.47% | 76.52% | -25.68% | -12.36% | 34.36% | 21.59% | 70.88% | 41.49% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 14.62M | 0 | 63.82M | 66.14M | 81.31M | 77.92M | 88.03M | 86.65M | 79.05M | 80.86M | 81.64M | 73.58M | 68.24M | 64.1M | 57.8M | 51.24M | 47.83M | 46.26M | 36.34M | 25.17M | 20.8M | 20.33M | 18.27M | 15.48M | 12.99M |
| EBIT | 55.17M | 54.22M | 35.71M | 72.37M | 174.4M | 205.15M | -584.95M | 127.13M | 13.11M | 126.45M | 202.88M | 220.36M | 245.71M | 244.61M | 241.51M | 154.07M | 178.31M | 93.31M | 45.08M | 81.32M | 100.71M | 70.11M | 56.11M | 791.35M | 17.78M |
| Net Interest Income | -33.47M | -45.34M | -45.29M | -32.17M | -14.87M | -32.13M | -23.69M | -7.36M | 1.29M | 2.79M | 2.14M | 3.46M | 3.12M | 2.44M | 3.81M | -9.18M | -10.27M | -11.34M | 2.61M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 0 | 0 | 1.15M | 0 | 225K | 0 | 338K | 1.56M | 3.72M | 3.28M | 2.38M | 3.63M | 3.23M | 2.91M | 4.71M | 2.62M | 3.23M | 2.22M | 3.4M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 23.34M | 45.34M | 46.44M | 32.17M | 15.1M | 32.13M | 24.03M | 8.91M | 2.43M | 488K | 238K | 168K | 108K | 474K | 894K | 11.8M | 1.04M | 1.41M | 794K | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -34.88M | -52.83M | -45.66M | -32.2M | 49.26M | -32.2M | -161.42M | -7.53M | -133.09M | 1.96M | 3.03M | 6.64M | 6.93M | 2.58M | 3.81M | -64.69M | -8.77M | -13.71M | -1.83M | 3.87M | 6.11M | -7.5M | -2.73M | -2.74M | -3.87M |
| Pretax Income | 29.25M | 1.39M | -10.73M | 40.2M | 159.52M | 173.03M | -608.65M | 119.77M | 10.68M | 125.86M | 202.65M | 220.19M | 244.93M | 244.01M | 240.61M | 142.27M | 177.28M | 91.89M | 44.28M | 87.29M | 107.63M | 62.61M | 53.38M | 25.31M | 13.91M |
| Pretax Margin % | 1.01% | 0.05% | -0.36% | 1.31% | 4.81% | 5.41% | -27.24% | 3.43% | 0.34% | 4.5% | 7.47% | 8.4% | 9.81% | 10.3% | 10.66% | 7.03% | 9.73% | 5.73% | 3.03% | 6.21% | 8.41% | 5.47% | 5.55% | 3.2% | 2.16% |
| Income Tax | -19.64M | 6.96M | -755K | 10.98M | -3.14M | 18.54M | -119.93M | 25.28M | 29.83M | 59.62M | 78.85M | 83.81M | 95.71M | 92.7M | 95.43M | -58.07M | 69.66M | 37.15M | 17.38M | 33.52M | 42.16M | 25.43M | 18.42M | 10.51M | 5.85M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | -67.16% | 501.66% | 7.04% | 27.32% | -1.97% | 10.72% | 19.7% | 21.1% | 279.41% | 47.37% | 38.91% | 38.06% | 39.08% | 37.99% | 39.66% | -40.82% | 39.29% | 40.43% | 39.25% | 38.4% | 39.18% | 40.61% | 34.51% | 41.51% | 42.04% |
| Net Income | 22.59M | -8.37M | -10.55M | 29.06M | 162.68M | 154.48M | -488.72M | 94.5M | -20.47M | 67.3M | 124.53M | 136.03M | 153.3M | 151.3M | 146.44M | 174.79M | 107.62M | 54.74M | 26.9M | 53.77M | 65.46M | 37.18M | 34.95M | 14.81M | 8.06M |
| Net Margin % | 0.78% | -0.29% | -0.35% | 0.95% | 4.91% | 4.83% | -21.87% | 2.71% | -0.64% | 2.4% | 4.59% | 5.19% | 6.14% | 6.39% | 6.49% | 8.63% | 5.91% | 3.42% | 1.84% | 3.83% | 5.12% | 3.25% | 3.64% | 1.87% | 1.25% |
| Net Income Growth % | 178.57% | 20.62% | -136.3% | -82.14% | 5.3% | 131.61% | -617.18% | 561.73% | -130.41% | -45.96% | -8.45% | -11.26% | 1.32% | 3.32% | -16.22% | 62.41% | 96.61% | 103.48% | -49.97% | -17.86% | 76.07% | 6.37% | 136.07% | 83.71% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 25.11M | -5.57M | -9.97M | 29.22M | 162.67M | 154.48M | -488.72M | 94.5M | -19.16M | 67.45M | 123.79M | 136.03M | 149.21M | 151.3M | 145.19M | 200.34M | 107.62M | 54.74M | 26.9M | 53.77M | 65.46M | 37.18M | 34.95M | 14.81M | 8.06M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 272K | 0 | 0 | 0 | -55.8M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 3.57M | 5.27M | 3.28M | 3.29M | 3.15M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 0.40 | -0.17 | -0.20 | 0.46 | 2.26 | 2.00 | -6.77 | 1.27 | -0.26 | 0.84 | 1.51 | 1.54 | 1.69 | 1.65 | 1.62 | 2.27 | 1.34 | 0.61 | 0.31 | 0.61 | 0.74 | 0.50 | 0.63 | 0.27 | 0.15 |
| EPS Growth % | 132.2% | 15% | -143.48% | -79.65% | 13% | 129.54% | -633.07% | 588.46% | -130.95% | -44.37% | -1.95% | -8.88% | 2.42% | 1.85% | -28.63% | 69.4% | 119.67% | 96.77% | -49.18% | -17.57% | 48% | -20.63% | 133.33% | 80% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | -0.17 | -0.20 | 0.47 | 2.41 | 2.12 | -6.77 | 1.28 | -0.26 | 0.84 | 1.53 | 1.55 | 1.71 | 1.67 | 1.65 | 2.48 | 1.37 | 0.62 | 0.31 | 0.61 | 0.75 | 0.50 | 0.63 | 0.27 | 0.15 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 55.92M | 49.14M | 53.66M | 63.38M | 72.1M | 77.27M | 72.2M | 74.61M | 80.03M | 80.69M | 82.14M | 88.5M | 90.61M | 91.9M | 90.61M | 74.28M | 80.13M | 89.62M | 88.44M | 88.55M | 88.44M | 74.69M | 55.41M | 55.41M | 55.41M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 55.92M | 49.14M | 53.66M | 61.3M | 67.6M | 73.02M | 72.2M | 73.6M | 78.41M | 80.16M | 81.54M | 87.56M | 89.5M | 90.47M | 88.85M | 70.44M | 78.43M | 87.8M | 88M | 87.91M | 87.83M | 74.44M | 55.41M | 55.41M | 55.41M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | 41.84% | 8.28% | 8.72% | - | 76.79% | - | 94.83% | 52.25% | 51.25% | 43.65% | 22.38% | 88.24% | 56.56% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Fixed cost deleveraging risk
As indicated by the most recent quarterly data, DBI's revenue growth has struggled to maintain positive momentum, with a year-over-year decline of 3.87% highlighting the difficulty in sustaining store productivity amidst a challenging retail environment for discretionary footwear and fashion-oriented apparel categories.
The consistent inability to achieve sustained top-line growth suggests that the company's core retail segment is losing relevance with the modern consumer. Investors should monitor whether the recent revenue volatility reflects a structural shift in demand or merely temporary cyclical headwinds within the broader apparel sector.
Based on reported financial statements, DBI's gross margin profile exhibits significant quarterly fluctuations, ranging from as low as 27.5% to over 45%, which suggests that the company's pricing power is highly sensitive to inventory clearance cycles and the mix of owned versus third-party brands.
The wide variance in gross margins implies that the company frequently resorts to aggressive discounting to move stagnant inventory. This lack of margin stability makes it difficult to forecast long-term profitability and suggests that the brand portfolio has yet to provide the intended defensive buffer against retail volatility.
According to the provided income statement data, DBI's operating margin has frequently dipped into negative territory, with a recent reading of 1.87% indicating that the company's high fixed-cost base prevents meaningful profit scaling even during periods of relatively stable revenue performance.
The inability to generate consistent operating income suggests that the company's physical store footprint is a significant drag on profitability. Without a substantial reduction in overhead or a major shift in sales mix, the company appears trapped in a cycle of operational deleveraging.
As reported in recent filings, DBI's net income has been characterized by extreme swings, including a negative net margin of -0.29%, which indicates that the company is currently struggling to maintain bottom-line profitability while managing significant stock-based compensation expenses and non-operating charges.
The frequent shifts between net profit and loss suggest that the company's earnings are not yet of high quality or predictability. Investors should be wary of the impact that persistent net losses have on the company's ability to fund future growth initiatives without further diluting shareholders.
Based on the provided financial figures, the most significant risk to the investment thesis is the company's reliance on a high-fixed-cost retail model that is currently failing to produce consistent net income, potentially necessitating further debt or asset liquidation to sustain ongoing operations.
Short-sellers would likely focus on the company's inability to convert its loyalty database into consistent, high-margin sales. The current financial trajectory suggests that the company may be over-leveraged for its current level of profitability, warranting extreme caution regarding its long-term solvency.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying DBI stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) reported total revenue of $2.89B. This represents a 348.9% increase compared to $644.3M in 2002.
Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) reported a net loss of $8.4M for the fiscal year ending 2025.
Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) reported an operating income of $54.2M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 1.9%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) generated $1.26B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 43.6%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.