Dave & Buster's Entertainment advertising spend, FY2026

Dave & Buster's Entertainment (PLAY) reported $93M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Feb 3, 2026. That is 4.4% of revenue of $2.1B. Up 15.8% from FY2025.

Ad spend, FY2026
$93M
year ended Feb 3, 2026
Change vs prior year
+15.8%
vs FY2025
Share of revenue
4.4%
of $2.1B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#354
of 458 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 3.1x its FY2016 level ($30M), faster than revenue (2.4x).
  • FY2026 is the highest year on file, going back to FY2013.
  • Largest increase +78.9% in FY2023; largest cut -52.9% in FY2021.
  • Ad spend has risen 5 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 4.4% of revenue, down from 4.8% in FY2021.
  • Dave & Buster's Entertainment spends more on advertising than 23% of the 458 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is close to the median of 4.6%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $25M $50M $75M $100M FY2013 (ended 2013-02-03): $28.5M FY2014 (ended 2014-02-02): $27.5M 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-02-01): $29.1M FY2016 (ended 2016-01-31): $30M 2016 FY2017 (ended 2017-01-29): $33.8M FY2018 (ended 2018-02-04): $37.9M 2018 FY2019 (ended 2019-02-03): $40.8M FY2020 (ended 2020-02-02): $44.8M 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-01-31): $21.1M FY2022 (ended 2022-01-30): $32.2M 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-01-29): $57.6M FY2024 (ended 2024-02-04): $67.8M 2024 FY2025 (ended 2025-02-04): $80.3M FY2026 (ended 2026-02-03): $93M 2026 $93M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 2% 4% 6% FY2013 (ended 2013-02-03): 4.7% FY2014 (ended 2014-02-02): 4.3% 2014 FY2015 (ended 2015-02-01): 3.9% FY2016 (ended 2016-01-31): 3.5% 2016 FY2017 (ended 2017-01-29): 3.4% FY2018 (ended 2018-02-04): 3.3% 2018 FY2019 (ended 2019-02-03): 3.2% FY2020 (ended 2020-02-02): 3.3% 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-01-31): 4.8% FY2022 (ended 2022-01-30): 2.5% 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-01-29): 2.9% FY2024 (ended 2024-02-04): 3.1% 2024 FY2025 (ended 2025-02-04): 3.8% FY2026 (ended 2026-02-03): 4.4% 2026 4.4%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2026 Feb 3, 2026 $93M +15.8% $2.1B 4.4% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 31, 2026
FY2025 Feb 4, 2025 $80.3M +18.4% $2.1B 3.8% MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 31, 2026
FY2024 Feb 4, 2024 $67.8M +17.7% $2.2B 3.1% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 2, 2024
FY2023 Jan 29, 2023 $57.6M +78.9% $2B 2.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 2, 2024
FY2022 Jan 30, 2022 $32.2M +52.6% $1.3B 2.5% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 2, 2024
FY2021 Jan 31, 2021 $21.1M -52.9% $437M 4.8% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 28, 2023
FY2020 Feb 2, 2020 $44.8M +10.0% $1.4B 3.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 29, 2022
FY2019 Feb 3, 2019 $40.8M +7.6% $1.3B 3.2% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 31, 2021
FY2018 Feb 4, 2018 $37.9M +12.1% $1.1B 3.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 3, 2020
FY2017 Jan 29, 2017 $33.8M +12.8% $1B 3.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 2, 2019
FY2016 Jan 31, 2016 $30M +2.8% $867M 3.5% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 3, 2018
FY2015 Feb 1, 2015 $29.1M +6.1% $747M 3.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 28, 2017
FY2014 Feb 2, 2014 $27.5M -3.6% $636M 4.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 29, 2016
FY2013 Feb 3, 2013 $28.5M n/a $608M 4.7% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Apr 7, 2015

What the figure is

Marketing and advertising combined, as reported under the XBRL tag MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense.

Earlier years use a different tag. The Tag column above shows which one applies to each year.

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to Dave & Buster's Entertainment in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
350 Avis Budget Group $94M 0.8% +22.1% FY2025
351 RingCentral $93.8M 3.7% -2.3% FY2025
352 Flowers Foods $93.2M 1.8% n/a FY2026
353 Figs $93.1M 14.8% +5.1% FY2025
354 Dave & Buster's Entertainment $93M 4.4% +15.8% FY2026
355 Acco Brands $92.5M 6.1% -6.8% FY2025
356 Stride $92.1M 3.7% -11.1% FY2026

Full ranking of 458 companies · Biggest increases #126 · Up 5+ years in a row #47

Questions

How much does Dave & Buster's Entertainment spend on advertising?

Dave & Buster's Entertainment spent $93M on advertising in fiscal 2026, the year ended Feb 3, 2026, according to its 10-K filed Mar 31, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does Dave & Buster's Entertainment spend on advertising?

4.4% of revenue in fiscal 2026 ($93M of $2.1B). The median across the 458 companies tracked is 4.6%.

Is Dave & Buster's Entertainment spending more on advertising?

Yes. Ad spend rose 15.8% in fiscal 2026 from fiscal 2025. It has risen 5 years in a row.

How does Dave & Buster's Entertainment rank by advertising spend?

#354 of 458 US-listed companies with $50M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does Dave & Buster's Entertainment's advertising figure include?

Marketing and advertising combined, as reported under the XBRL tag MarketingAndAdvertisingExpense.

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2026, filed Mar 31, 2026
Accession number
0001525769-26-000008
Company
Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc., CIK 1525769, SIC 5812 (Retail-Eating Places)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
Dave & Buster's Entertainment advertising spend, FY2013-FY2026. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Mar 31, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/dave-buster-s-entertainment/advertising-spend/
Download
CSV, all years · CSV, all 458 companies