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Designer Brands Inc. key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2026, Designer Brands Inc. had return on equity of -3.0% and a net margin of -0.3%. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

Fiscal year2010Jan 20102011Jan 20112012Jan 20122013Feb 20132014Feb 20142015Jan 20152016Jan 20162017Jan 20172018Feb 20182019Feb 20192020Feb 20202021Jan 20212022Jan 20222023Jan 20232024Feb 20242025Feb 20252026Jan 2026LTMAug 2026
Net margin−1.6%1.0%8.6%6.5%6.4%6.1%5.2%4.6%2.4%−0.6%2.7%−21.9%4.8%4.9%0.9%−0.4%−0.3%0.6%
Return on equity−6.5%5.5%33.9%17.8%16.3%15.3%27.5%—————75.5%38.5%7.3%−3.3%−3.0%5.8%
Return on assets—1.7%15.5%11.9%11.3%10.7%9.7%8.9%4.7%−1.3%4.6%−22.0%7.7%8.1%1.4%−0.5%−0.4%0.9%
Effective tax rate—53.6%−40.8%39.7%37.9%39.2%38.1%38.9%47.3%—21.1%—10.7%−2.0%27.3%——44.1%
SG&A as % of revenue27.5%21.7%22.2%21.3%21.0%20.5%21.2%22.3%22.0%25.8%25.0%33.7%27.2%38.4%40.9%41.4%42.1%42.6%
Dividends ÷ net income—0.0%56.6%88.2%22.4%43.6%51.3%52.3%94.6%—76.8%—0.0%8.3%41.8%——57.9%

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

2 of 6 checks passed · August 1, 2026
What it owns · $2.0bn
Short-term assets $763mLonger-term assets $1.2bn
What it owes, and who funded it · $2.0bn
Short-term liabilities $627mLonger-term liabilities $1.1bnShareholders' equity $301m
  • Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $763m of assets due within a year against $627m of liabilities due within a year.
  • Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $763m short-term assets against $1.1bn of longer-dated liabilities.
  • More cash than debt $52m of cash against $423m of debt.
  • Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Debt is 140% of equity.
  • Debt burden no higher than five years ago Debt to equity moved from 55% to 140% over five years.
  • A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt $157m of operating cash flow against $423m of debt.
  • Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Interest not separately reported. Not assessable.

From Designer Brands Inc.'s latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

29 /100

Weak moat

How hard Designer Brands's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

  • Returns on capital 1 / 20

    Cash operating profit has been a median 2.7% of total assets over 10 years.

  • Pricing power 4 / 20

    Gross margin has been a median 31.6%, moving by 9.4 percentage points (standard deviation) across 10 years.

  • Durability 0 / 20

    Operating margin has been a median 2.9%; its worst year was -15.3%.

  • Cash conversion 9 / 20

    Free cash flow was positive in 8 of 10 years, at a median 1.0% of revenue.

  • Discipline 20 / 20

    The diluted share count fell 29.7% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.7% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: Medium. In this industry, AI could change how the product is made or sold, without replacing the core asset. The score above includes a 5-point deduction for that exposure (34 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

Compare with peers

Head to head: DBI vs GCOBOOT vs DBIANF vs DBI

More: Apparel Retail stocks compared, Consumer Discretionary sector, rankings of US companies

Figures from Designer Brands Inc.'s SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 26, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to Designer Brands Inc.