How does buckle, inc. make money?

buckle, inc. generates $1.2B in annual revenue (annual revenue · their business grew -3.4% last year).

What is BKE's XVARY composite score?

buckle, inc. (BKE) has an XVARY composite score of 61/100, rated average. This combines growth, value, risk, and momentum factors.

BKE — buckle, inc. stock analysis

Start here if you're new

what it is

Buckle sells casual clothes, mostly jeans, to young shoppers through 444 stores in 42 states.

how it gets paid

Last year Buckle made $1.2B in revenue. denim was the main engine at $0.51B, or 42% of sales.

why growth slowed
Revenue fell 3.4% last year. As such, on january 29th, those stockholders will receive a special dividend of $3.00 per share, alongside the quarterly payout of $0.35, which will be.

what just happened

Buckle printed $899M in quarterly revenue and $2.55 a share.

At a glance

B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night

65/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable

13.0x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal

2.6% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter

42.5% return on capital — every dollar works hard here

xvary composite: 61/100 — average

What they do

Buckle sells casual clothes, mostly jeans, to young shoppers through 444 stores in 42 states.

You are not betting on a giant chain. You are betting on 444 stores, and denim was 42.5% of 2024 sales. People come in for jeans and leave with tops, shoes, and accessories. Officers and directors own 39.0% of the stock, including the chairman at 31.7%. When management owns that much, your ride and theirs are the same one.

consumer apparel-retail mid-cap dividend specialty-retail

How they make money

$1.2B annual revenue · their business grew -3.4% last year

denim

$0.51B

tops and sweaters

$0.35B

accessories

$0.13B

footwear

$0.06B

sportwear

$0.06B

other clothing

$0.09B

The products that matter

physical retail footprint

Retail stores

441 stores · ~83.5% of sales

This is still the center of gravity. About $1.0B of the company’s roughly $1.2B revenue comes through stores, so traffic still decides the quarter.

core channel

direct e-commerce channel

Online sales

$198M · 16.5% of sales

This channel grew 14% and now represents 16.5% of revenue. It is the growth pocket, even if it is still too small to carry the whole business alone.

faster growth

owned and third-party apparel mix

Merchandise assortment

no segment breakout

Buckle does not break out revenue by private label versus outside brands, so you are underwriting the full $1.2B assortment rather than a neatly segmented portfolio.

data is thin

Key numbers

42.5%

profit per dollar

For every $1 Buckle puts to work, it gets $0.425 back in operating profit. That is a lot for a clothing retailer.

24.0%

operating margin

Operating margin means profit after store costs. Buckle keeps 24 cents of every sales dollar, which leaves room for dividends.

2.6%

dividend yield

You get $2.60 a year for every $100 invested at the current price. That is cash, not a story.

13.0x

trailing p/e

That means you pay $13 for each $1 of trailing earnings. With projected earnings growth at 2.0%, the multiple is not heroic.

Financial health

B++

strength

balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
price stability 55 / 100
net profit margin 18.0% — keeps 18 cents of every dollar in revenue
return on equity 42% — $0.42 profit for every $1 investors have put in

B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.

Total return vs. market

You invested $10,000 in BKE 3 years ago → it's now worth $15,140.

The index would have given you $14,770.

same period. same starting point. BKE beat the market by $370.

source: institutional data · total return

What just happened

beat estimates

Buckle printed $899M in quarterly revenue and $2.55 a share.

Gross margin, or money left after product costs, was 47.4%. That is the kind of spread that keeps the dividend machine fed.

$899M

revenue

$2.55

eps

47.4%

gross margin

the number that mattered

47.4% gross margin mattered because it shows Buckle kept almost half of sales after product costs.

the buckle announced another special dividend for shareholders of record on january 15th.
each year, the company typically rewards its investors with a solid dividend payment.

as such, on january 29th, those stockholders will receive a special dividend of $3.00 per share, alongside the quarterly payout of $0.35, which will be paid together.
the buckle generated favorable top- and bottom-line results in the october quarter, which were about in line with our expectations. (fiscal 2025 ends on january 31st.) sales improved 9.3%, vs. prior year, to $320.8 million.
overall, there was strong momentum in women’s merchandise, led by denim offerings.

and growth extended into knits, sweaters, and accessories, which helped offset a weak men’s category.
online sales grew by about 14%, making up about 16.5% of total sales.

but merchandise margins dipped slightly, due to product mix shifts, and tariffs caused slight cost pressures.

source: company earnings report, 2026

What could go wrong

The #1 risk is mall traffic weakness hitting a store-heavy revenue base.

∘

med

Store sales are still the business

About 83.5% of revenue still comes from stores, and annual sales fell 3.4% to roughly $1.2B.

If mall traffic stays soft, the bigger channel keeps shrinking faster than online can offset it.

∘

med

Fashion wins can reverse fast

The recent quarter leaned on women’s denim strength while men’s categories stayed weak.

That makes results more dependent on merchandise mix than a basic apparel story would be.

∘

med

Leadership change during expansion

Two retail executives retired in January 2026 while Buckle plans 12–14 new stores and 12–14 remodels.

Expansion is easier when the people running stores are not changing at the same time.

Store sales drive about 83.5% of revenue, so a traffic miss still hits most of the business even with online growing 14%.

source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis

Pay attention to

trend

Online mix versus store pressure

Online grew 14% and reached 16.5% of sales. If that keeps climbing while stores keep slipping, the business model changes even without headline growth.

calendar

FY2026 store openings

Management plans 12–14 new stores and 12–14 remodels. For a retailer with shrinking annual sales, that expansion plan is a real test.

risk

Executive turnover

The EVP of Stores and SVP of Sales retired in January 2026. Watch execution, especially if store productivity starts wobbling.

metric

Operating margin hold

The 24.0% operating margin is the unusual part of this story. If it starts following revenue lower, the valuation support gets thinner fast.

Analyst rankings

earnings predictability

65 / 100

This sits in the middle of the pack. In human-speak, analysts think Buckle is reasonably forecastable, but fashion and traffic can still move the numbers around.

source: institutional data

Institutional activity

institutions have been net buying for 3 consecutive quarters — 154 buyers vs. 144 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 30.2M shares. net buying for 3 quarters.

source: institutional data · 1q2025-3q2025

source: institutional data

Price targets

3-5 year target range

$35 $65

$54 current price

$50 target midpoint · 8% from current · 3-5yr high: $70 (+30% · 9% ann'l return)

source: institutional data · analyst targets

The deep dive

BKE

xvary deep dive

bke

the full analysis is in the works.

what you'll get

dcf valuation model

bull / base / bear scenarios

competitive moat breakdown

quarterly earnings tracker

operating model projections

risk matrix with kill criteria

original price target + conviction

updated with every earnings

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