Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Designer Brands Inc. is graded D (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 10 pass, warnings: 9, red flags: 6.

About Designer Brands Inc.

Designer Brands Inc. is a Consumer Cyclical company (Apparel Retail) based in the United States, listed on NYSE as DBI.

What our checks show for DBI

Red flags

• Net debt is 7.4x a year of EBITDA (debt/equity 4.02). That limits room in a downturn and raises refinancing risk.
• The net margin fell by 4.2 points over 5 years, to 0.6%: the company keeps less of each sale as profit.
• Revenue fell 4.4% a year over the last 3 years.
• The net margin is only 0.6%: little room if costs rise.
• The price swings a lot: 77.6% annual volatility. Expect large ups and downs.
• The stock has fallen as much as 95% from a peak. Would you have held through that?

Warning signs

• Operating profit covers interest only 2.9 times: a weak year could make the payments hard.
• Analysts expect only about 1.4% a year of growth in revenue.
• Earnings per share fell 48.5% a year over the last 3 years.
• Net profit fell 53% a year over the last 3 years.
• Free cash flow is only 3.9% of revenue.
• A small company (market value $325 million): usually riskier and followed by fewer analysts.
• The stock is still below its previous peak.
• Beta 1.25: the stock usually moves more than the market, both up and down.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is only 7%.

Strengths

• The gross margin is 45.7% and has risen by 12.3 points: pricing power is holding.
• Operating cash flow is 6.49x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect earnings per share to grow about 54.3% a year over the next years.
• The share count fell by 19.8% in 2 years: the company buys back its own shares.

Next earnings report: 2026-12-08

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Questions

What grade does Designer Brands Inc. (DBI) have?

In our weekly check, Designer Brands Inc. is graded D (A to F). Of 25 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 10 pass, warnings: 9, red flags: 6. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of DBI stock?

This week's biggest flags for Designer Brands Inc.: High debt, Margins falling, Weak revenue growth. In total 15 of 25 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Designer Brands Inc. do?

Designer Brands Inc. is a Consumer Cyclical company (Apparel Retail) based in the United States, listed on NYSE as DBI.

When does Designer Brands Inc. report earnings next?

The next earnings report is expected on 2026-12-08. We re-run the checks every week, so the grade can change after it.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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