Dave & Buster’s Entertainment Inc. says 98% of its locations, including 11 in New York and 15 in California, reopened as of April 18. The information was included in a business update covering the first 11 weeks of the first quarter. Dave & Buster’s says comparable store sales were down 38% compared with 2019, and sales have reached about $228 million with two weeks left in the quarter. As a result, the company has raised its first-quarter sales guidance to between $252 million and $257 million from $210 million to $220 million. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $227.6 million. “We have been very pleased with our recently reopened stores in New York and California, which have produced some of our strongest early sales recoveries to date,” said Brian Jenkins, chief executive of Dave & Buster’s, in a statement. “Their performance, in tandem with economic stimulus, expanding vaccines and a favorable Easter and spring break shift, has accelerated sales recovery trends across our entire store base.” The company expects to report its quarterly results in June. Shares have slipped about 1% in Tuesday trading, but have rallied more than 41% for the year to date. The benchmark S&P 500 index is up 9.8% for 2021 so far. Truist Securities says sales are recovering faster than expected, but analysts question what impact stimulus funds had. Truist rates Dave & Buster’s stock hold with a $42 price target. See: Dave & Buster’s rang up less than one-third the revenue in 2020 compared with prior year
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