Designer Brands Inc. Class A Common Stock (DBI)

FairStock Score: 51/100 — MIXED

Key Financials

AI Analysis

AI-generated, general educational analysis — not personal investment advice.

I look for businesses with durable advantages, conservative balance sheets, and a margin of safety. Designer Brands is a footwear and accessories retailer in a cyclical, competitive industry. Revenue slipped from $3.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, the year ended 2024-02-03, to $2.9 billion in fiscal year 2025, the year ended 2026-01-31. It earned $29.1 million in fiscal year 2023, then lost $10.5 million in fiscal year 2024, the year ended 2025-02-01, and $8.4 million in fiscal year 2025. That is why FairStock labels it a turnaround: a loss in the latest year after earlier profits. The most recent filed quarter, fiscal Q2 2026, the quarter ended 2026-08-01, showed $730.6 million of revenue and $17.6 million of net income, so there are signs of recovery. Still, quality is not obvious. FairStock-calculated return on equity was 8.49% and return on capital employed just 2.02%, too low for a business with debt-to-equity of 3.93. The Altman Z-Score of 0.70 flags financial stress. Yet the Piotroski F-Score is 7/9, and trailing free cash flow is $119.9 million, a 36.6% FCF yield at the $328 million market cap. That cash generation is the main attraction. At the 2026-10-13 close of $5.86, FairStock calculates price-to-book of 0.99, P/E of 18.31, and a Graham Number of $6.52, implying about 10.12% margin of safety. The FairStock Score is 51/100. This looks like a cigar-butt turnaround: if margins and cash flow hold, the price is modestly cheap; if the balance sheet or retail demand deteriorates, the equity could be impaired. I would demand a larger discount for the risk.

In plain English: Designer Brands sells shoes and accessories, including brands like Vince Camuto and Keds, through its own stores and brand business. The business looks weak to mixed: the latest full year had a loss, sales have slipped, and debt is high, but the company is still generating cash and had a profitable recent quarter. At $5.86, the stock looks roughly fair to slightly cheap compared with its accounting value and cash generation, though the risks are real.

The full AI analysis, bull and bear case and key monitorables are in FairStock Pro.

Data as of 2026-10-13 close · note generated 2026-10-15 · model deepseek-flash

Sources (SEC EDGAR): fiscal Q2 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-08-01) · fiscal Q1 2026 10-Q (period ended 2026-05-02) · fiscal Q3 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-11-01) · fiscal Q2 2025 10-Q (period ended 2025-08-02) · FY2025 10-K (period ended 2026-01-31) · FY2024 10-K (period ended 2025-02-01) · FY2023 10-K (period ended 2024-02-03)

Fundamentals from company filings and market-data providers; prices are end-of-day, not real-time. AI-generated analysis is general and educational — not personal investment advice. Scoring methodology · Score test · Disclaimer