Forensic Analysis · Retail / Consumer Discretionary · as of Jun 28, 2026
BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC (BBW)
A forensic read on BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
A · High-quality compounder
Forensic grade
Safe
Financial health
4.1
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
7.1
P / E (ttm)
35.6%
ROE
$393M
Market cap
2.81%
Dividend yield
BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC earns a A (High-quality compounder) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is 4.1, placing it in the Safe zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by accruals ratio.
What the filings flag
+14.1%Accruals ratio.Net operating assets grew +14.1% relative to their average in FY2026 — the accrual component of earnings. Accruals are building faster than is comfortable — part of profit sits in receivables, inventory or capitalized costs rather than cash. The cash-flow cross-check agrees: reported earnings ran behind operating cash by -11% of net operating assets.
128dInventory days.Days inventory outstanding moved from 114 to 128 FY2025→FY2026 (against cost of goods sold; inventory +18% vs +5% in cost of sales). Inventory is building a little faster than sales — watch for markdowns.
99% of FCFShareholder returns.Returned $39M to shareholders (buybacks + dividends) in FY2026 — 99% of free cash flow. Right at the limit of what free cash flow covers — little room before it's funded by debt or the balance sheet.
-99%Dividend — cut.The payout was CUT ~99% in FY2023 (from FY2022). It still returns some cash, but it is NOT the dependable, rising dividend an unbroken streak implies — weigh the cut when judging reliability.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin9.9%
Debt / Equity0.05x
Free Cash Flow$39.5M
Latest Revenue$529.8M
Return on Equity33.7%
Revenue Growth YoY+6.7%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about BBW's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown