Suggestions

BBW · NYSE

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC

Private beta

Sector unavailable · Industry unavailable

$27.58

-2.13%

Close on Sep 11, 2026

Insufficient Data

Updated 12/18/2023

Long-term research evidence only. No price targets, no trading signals, no recommendations.

Investment Report Card

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC

Sector unavailable · Data confidence partial

69 / 100

Rank #102 of 1,152 qualified companies

Top 15% · Watch

Risk Intelligence

Core Model
C+

70 / 100

Insufficient Data

How strong and defensively sound is the company?

Around the middle of the covered universe.

Long-Term Potential

Research Model
B−

73 / 100

Insufficient Data

Does the business have the characteristics needed to create value over many years?

Above average on this measure.

Fundamental Momentum

Research Model
F

25 / 100

Insufficient Data

Is the underlying business getting stronger or weaker?

Weaker than most covered companies on this measure.

Ownership Intelligence

Supplemental Intelligence
A+

100 / 100

Positive disclosed activity

What are important owners actually doing?

Among the strongest readings on this measure.

Valuation Intelligence

Research Model
B−

70 / 100

Attractive

Is today's price reasonable?

Above average on this measure — and valuation is researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.

Capital Returns Intelligence

Research Model
C−

57 / 100

Moderate Capital Returns

How effectively does the company reward shareholders?

Around the middle of the covered universe — and capital returns are researched separately from the Suggested Investment Score.

Why it stands out

  • More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.
  • Attractive valuation: the stock reads 70 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence (Attractive) relative to its own history and comparable companies.

What holds it back

No weakening evidence is recorded in today's readings.

Long-term view

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC scores 73 on Long-Term Potential (B−), described by the research model as insufficient data. This describes business characteristics only — it is not a forecast of future returns.

Ownership view

Disclosed ownership evidence reads 100 (A+): Positive disclosed activity. Ownership filings are historical disclosures, not signals.

Valuation view

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 70 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Attractive. The stock currently trades below most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value. Valuation Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.

Capital returns view

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 57 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Moderate Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend paid for 4 consecutive years and a share count falling about 4.3% a year. Capital Returns Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.

What changed

No meaningful recorded changes in the stored history.

Risk Intelligence is a core model, Long-Term Potential, Fundamental Momentum, Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence are research models, and Ownership Intelligence is supplemental descriptive evidence. Valuation Intelligence and Capital Returns Intelligence each contribute 0% to the Suggested Investment Score. Nothing here is a recommendation.

Compare BBW with other companies

Appears in

Rule-based membership

Membership means the company satisfied a published rule on the latest research build. It is not a recommendation.

About a minute to read

The 60-Second Investment Brief

Written from stored research readings only. No hype. No trading signals. Just better evidence.

Why it's interesting

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC (BBW) scores 69 out of 100 and ranks #102 of 1,152 qualified companies today. That places it in the top 15% of ranked companies. The stored tier for that score is watch.

Business strength

Risk Intelligence reads 70 out of 100 (C+), recorded as insufficient data. Around the middle of the covered universe.

Long-term opportunity

Long-Term Potential reads 73 out of 100 (B−), recorded as insufficient data. Above average on this measure.

What's improving or weakening

Fundamental Momentum reads 25 out of 100 (F), recorded as insufficient data. Weaker than most covered companies on this measure.

What important owners are doing

Ownership Intelligence reads 100 out of 100 (A+), recorded as positive disclosed activity. Among the strongest readings on this measure.

What kind of price you'd be paying

Valuation currently appears favourable: Valuation Intelligence reads 70 out of 100 (B−), recorded as Attractive. BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 70 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Attractive. The stock currently trades below most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value. Valuation Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.

How the company rewards shareholders

Capital Returns Intelligence reads 57 out of 100 (C−), recorded as Moderate Capital Returns. BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 57 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Moderate Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend paid for 4 consecutive years and a share count falling about 4.3% a year. Capital Returns Intelligence is a research model and contributes nothing to the Suggested Investment Score or the daily ranking.

What could go wrong

No weakening factors are recorded in today's stored readings, and data confidence is partial. Absence of a recorded weakness is not evidence of safety.

Bottom line

Its strongest recorded evidence is Ownership Intelligence. Fundamental Momentum remains the main area to watch. Separately from the score, valuation reads attractive at today's price.

Composite discovery model

Suggested Investment Score

Suggested Investment Score

69 / 100

Watch

A 0–100 composite discovery score combining Risk Intelligence, Long-Term Potential, Fundamental Momentum, and Ownership Intelligence. It helps rank qualified companies for further research and does not predict future returns.

Rank
#102 of 694
Percentile
Top 25%
Ranking updated
September 12, 2026
Rank unchanged. Rank unchanged.
Risk Intelligence
70

30% contribution

Long-Term Potential
73

30% contribution

Fundamental Momentum
25

20% contribution

Ownership Intelligence
100

20% contribution

Ownership Intelligence

100 / 100 · Strong · 20% of the Suggested Investment Score

SUPPLEMENTAL / DESCRIPTIVE INTELLIGENCE

Coverage: Partial Coverage

Elite Investor Activity
Insufficient Data

50% of Ownership Intelligence · 10% of the total score

No reliably mapped professional-manager filings are stored, so this evidence is unavailable rather than neutral.

Institutional Activity
100 · Strong

20% of Ownership Intelligence · 4% of the total score

Broad institutional evidence from resolved filings is strong.

Insider Activity
Insufficient Data

15% of Ownership Intelligence · 3% of the total score

No discretionary insider transactions are stored for this company, so this evidence is unavailable rather than neutral.

Strategic Ownership
Insufficient Data

15% of Ownership Intelligence · 3% of the total score

No qualifying major-holder filings are stored, so this evidence is unavailable rather than neutral.

Ownership Intelligence summarizes publicly disclosed activity among professional investment managers, broader institutions, company insiders, and significant strategic owners. It adds context to investment research but is not a validated predictor of future performance. Ownership information is publicly reported with a delay; the latest applicable reporting period is 2023-09-30, publicly disclosed 9/11/2026. Congressional activity is unavailable pending legal review and contributes nothing to this reading.

Why it ranks here

  • Exceptional long-term potential

    Stored profitability, capital efficiency and reinvestment readings rank near the top of the qualified universe.

  • Strong ownership evidence

    Disclosed institutional activity evidence is favourable relative to other qualified companies. Ownership evidence is descriptive and reported with a delay.

What holds it back

  • Fundamental Momentum is softer

    Reported business trends rank below the qualified median.

  • Ownership Intelligence — Partial Coverage

    Only part of the ownership evidence is available for this company. Missing evidence is left missing rather than replaced with a neutral value.

  • Price Risk is less favourable

    Price Risk sits in the higher category relative to other qualified companies.

COMPOSITE DISCOVERY MODEL — RESEARCH STAGE · Data coverage Good. Rankings are recalculated daily using the latest available information. Individual components may update at different frequencies based on when new financial and ownership data becomes available.

Researched separately

Valuation Intelligence 70 · Attractive

RESEARCH MODEL

Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.

Researched separately

Capital Returns Intelligence 57 · Moderate Capital Returns

RESEARCH MODEL

Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.

Score explanation

Why this company scores the way it does

Four research areas carry fixed weights. Each area is compared against every other eligible company, then weighted. The four contributions below add to 68.8 of the stored score (68.8).

  • Risk Intelligence

    30% of the score · contributes 20.4 points

    How strong and defensively sound is the company?

    Stands at the 68 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 70 · 30% of this company’s total score

    How financially sturdy the company has been when conditions turned against it.

    How this area is measured

    Risk Intelligence reads stored balance-sheet strength, historical downside behaviour and the company's price-risk grouping. A stronger reading describes past resilience; it does not protect against future losses.

    Full methodology
  • Long-Term Potential

    30% of the score · contributes 27.9 points

    Does the business have the characteristics needed to create value over many years?

    Stands at the 93 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 73 · 41% of this company’s total score

    Whether the business has the durable characteristics long-term owners look for.

    How this area is measured

    Long-Term Potential reads durability characteristics such as profitability consistency, cash generation and reinvestment capability over multiple reported periods.

    Full methodology
  • Fundamental Momentum

    20% of the score · contributes 1.8 points

    Is the underlying business getting stronger or weaker?

    Stands at the 9 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 25 · 3% of this company’s total score

    Whether the reported business results have been getting stronger or weaker.

    How this area is measured

    Fundamental Momentum compares recent reported fundamentals with the company's own earlier periods, so improvement or deterioration is measured against its history rather than against a forecast.

    Full methodology
  • Ownership Intelligence

    20% of the score · contributes 18.6 points

    What are important owners actually doing?

    Stands at the 93 percentile of eligible companies · stored reading 100 · 27% of this company’s total score

    What large reporting owners have actually been doing with their positions.

    How this area is measured

    Ownership Intelligence reads public ownership filings: how many tracked reporting owners hold the company, and whether they were adding, holding, reducing or exiting in the latest disclosed period.

    Full methodology

What is helping the score

  • Long-Term Potential93 percentile, adding 27.9 points.
  • Risk Intelligence68 percentile, adding 20.4 points.
  • Ownership Intelligence93 percentile, adding 18.6 points.

What deserves attention

  • Fundamental Momentum9 percentile, adding only 1.8 of a possible 20 points.
Outside the score

Additional research — not currently included in the primary Suggested Investment Score.

  • Valuation IntelligenceBUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 70 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Attractive. The stock currently trades below most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value.
  • Capital Returns IntelligenceBUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 57 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Moderate Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend paid for 4 consecutive years and a share count falling about 4.3% a year.

Stored snapshots only

What changed

Research-score history available since September 2026.

Stored research history does not yet cover a full 30 days comparison for this company.

A change is reported as meaningful at 8 score points, 5 rank places, or any change of research classification. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell.

Learn the metrics on this page

Plain-English definitions, with the formula and the limitations of each measure.

Fifth research lens · outside the score

Valuation Intelligence

Valuation Intelligence

Is today's price reasonable?

Valuation Intelligence is currently researched separately and does not affect the Suggested Investment Score or daily ranking.

70/ 100

Attractive

RESEARCH MODEL
Excellent coverage

Compared with its history

67

Attractive

Is this company expensive or inexpensive compared with its own history?

Compared with peers

79

Very Attractive

How expensive is this stock compared with similar companies?

Earnings & cash flow

89

Very Attractive

How much financial output does an investor receive relative to the price paid?

Growth-adjusted

40

Elevated

Does the company's growth help justify the valuation investors are paying?

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 70 out of 100 on Valuation Intelligence, recorded as Attractive. The stock currently trades below most of its own recent valuation history and below comparable companies. This describes the price being paid relative to the company's financials — it is not a forecast and not a fair value.

Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended May 2, 2026

Valuation history

Stored readings only. The dashed line is this company's own median for the selected measure.

Only one stored valuation reading exists so far, so there is nothing to chart yet. Valuation history builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.

Current P/E 6.3x · own median 9.4x · peer median 21.7x

Valuation is inherently uncertain. A stock that appears inexpensive can continue falling, and a stock that appears expensive can continue rising. Valuation Intelligence provides context about the price investors are paying — it does not predict short-term market movements, and it never produces a fair value, a price target or a buy or sell range. Model VALUATION_INTELLIGENCE_V1.

Sixth research lens · outside the score

Capital Returns Intelligence

Capital Returns Intelligence

How effectively does the company reward shareholders?

Capital Returns Intelligence is researched separately and contributes 0% to the Suggested Investment Score, the daily rank or any ranking event.

57/ 100

Moderate Capital Returns

RESEARCH MODEL
Excellent coverage

Dividend Quality

38

Limited Capital Returns

Dividend reliability

Buyback Effectiveness

84

Exceptional Capital Returns

Do buybacks actually reduce shares?

Dilution Control

87

Exceptional Capital Returns

Is your ownership share protected?

Capital Return Sustainability

0

Limited Capital Returns

Can the cash flow support it?

Shareholder Yield

91

Exceptional Capital Returns

Cash returned versus company value

BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP INC reads 57 out of 100 on Capital Returns Intelligence (Moderate Capital Returns), reflecting a dividend paid for 4 consecutive years and a share count falling about 4.3% a year.

Distributions coincided with rising debt over this period, so part of the cash returned was not funded by the cash the business generated.

How returned cash was used

Dividends $11.49M · net repurchases $35.48M · total returned $46.98M · 162% of free cash flow

Price data through September 11, 2026 · Financial data through the quarter ended May 2, 2026

Capital returns history

Stored readings only. History builds forward from activation rather than being reconstructed.

Only one stored reading exists for this measure so far, so there is nothing to chart yet.

Why higher yield isn't always better

A very high dividend yield may reflect a falling share price or an unsustainable payout. Capital Returns Intelligence emphasizes consistency and sustainability rather than simply rewarding the highest yield.

Why buybacks can be misleading

Announced or gross buyback spending does not always mean shareholders are gaining ownership. Companies can simultaneously issue shares through employee compensation or acquisitions. Suggested Investments therefore considers actual share-count changes alongside repurchase spending.

What these terms mean
Dividend Yield
The annual dividend relative to the current share price.
Payout Ratio
The share of company earnings used to pay dividends.
Free Cash Flow Payout
How much of the company's available cash is being used for dividends.
Share Repurchases
When a company buys back its own stock.
Dilution
When the number of shares increases, reducing each existing share's percentage ownership of the company.
Shareholder Yield
A combined view of dividends and net share repurchases relative to the company's market value.

Capital Returns Intelligence describes how a company returns capital to shareholders. It is not a measure of stock-price performance, it does not predict future returns, and a strong reading is never a recommendation to buy. Dividends and repurchases can be reduced or stopped at any time. Model CAPITAL_RETURNS_INTELLIGENCE_V1, contributing 0% to the Suggested Investment Score.

Stored daily snapshots only

Ranking history

Stored Suggested Investment ranking history
Today#102Score 69
30 days agoNot rankedNo stored score
90 days agoNot rankedNo stored score
First suggestedSeptember 12, 2026
Highest rank#102

In the company’s own words

What this company does

Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was formed in 1997 as a mall-based, experiential specialty retailer for children. Build A Bear has evolved to become a leading global "retailtainment" brand on a mission to add a little more heart to life. At Build-A-Bear, guests are invited to create personalized furry friends through a unique stuffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming process, accentuated by a memorable Heart Ceremony that creates moments of connection for people of all ages. Over the years, Build A Bear has grown into a multi generational phenomenon, positioned at the intersection of pop culture trends. Beyond its signature retail experience, our brand also offers pre stuffed plush, gifting, partnerships with best in class licensed and collectible characters, and original storytelling through Build A Bear Entertainment, LLC. Build A Bear’s current brand platform and message, "The Stuff You Love," crosses ages and cultures while celebrating nearly 30 years of helping people mark life’s meaningful moments.

The Build-A-Bear brand has high consumer awareness and positive affinity, and we leverage our brand strength to expand the footprint of our retail experience locations through a range of store sizes, formats, and locations, including tourist destinations. In addition to growing our corporately-managed store footprint, we are also growing through partner-operated and franchise locations, particularly for our international expansion. Our ongoing digital transformation, which touches our e-commerce business, consumer loyalty program, and digital content, has led to omnichannel growth over the past several years. Build-A-Bear's pop-culture appeal plays a key role in expanding our total addressable market beyond children to teens and adults with sports licensing, collectible and gifting offerings, as well as to categories beyond plush.

As of January 31, 2026, the Company had 662 global locations through a combination of its corporately-managed, partner-operated, and franchise models. This reflects 375 corporately-managed locations, including 333 stores in the United States ("U.S.") and Canada and 42 stores in the United Kingdom ("U.K.") and the Republic of Ireland, 178 partner-operated locations in which we sell our products on a wholesale basis to other companies that then, in turn, execute our retail experience, and 109 franchise locations operating internationally, all under the Build-A-Bear Workshop brand. In addition to these stores, we sell products on our company-owned e-commerce sites and third-party marketplace sites, our franchisees sell products through sites that they manage as well as other third-party marketplace sites. Additionally, other parties sell our products on their sites under wholesale agreements. For the 2025 fiscal year, the Company had net new unit growth of 64 experience locations, comprised of seven corporately managed locations, 40 partner-operated locations, and 17 international franchise locations.

Our business is conducted through three reportable segments consisting of direct-to-consumer ("DTC"), commercial, and international franchising. Our reportable segments are primarily determined by the types of customers they serve and the types of products and services that they offer. Each reportable segment may operate in many geographic areas. Financial information related to our segments and the geographic areas in which we operate is contained in "Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." See Not e 15 — "S egment Information" to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding sales, results of operations and identifiable assets of the Company by business segment and by geographic area.

Quoted from the business section of this company’s 10-K filed April 16, 2026. Read the filing

Four distinct intelligence areas

The IA view

Risk Intelligence

Production core

70

Fundamentally Qualified

No prior period to compare

Business Quality qualification score from the locked IA Defensive Research Core. Price Risk stays a separate category and is never blended in.

As of Sep 11, 2026

Long-Term Potential

Research model

73

Elite Compounder

No prior period to compare

Durable business economics and reinvestment characteristics. Independent external validation is pending.

As of Sep 11, 2026

Fundamental Momentum

Research model

25

Deteriorating

No prior period to compare

Direction and breadth of change in underlying business fundamentals. Not a price-momentum signal.

As of Sep 11, 2026

Elite Investor Activity

Supplemental

Insufficient Data

No prior period to compare

No tracked manager filings mapped to this company.

Intelligence history

Not enough stored history to chart BBW yet. A company needs at least two published research or ownership periods before a trend can be shown.

Share price

BBW price history

Closing prices adjusted for splits and dividends, through Sep 11, 2026. Past prices do not indicate future results.

6M change
-32.8%
1Y change
-62.3%
3Y change
+2.7%
5Y change
+83.5%
Max change
+942.7%

Last stored close $27.58 · -62.3% over the selected range · 52 sessions shown

Balanced evidence

Why IA likes it

  • More disclosed holders are new or increasing than reducing or exiting.

Risk and uncertainty

What IA doesn’t like

  • No specific negative evidence is available. This is not evidence of low risk.

What would change our view

  • Business Quality falling below the frozen qualification threshold.
  • Price Risk moving to a less favorable category.
  • A sustained reversal in the Fundamental Momentum research evidence.
  • New material public ownership disclosures.

Public filings · descriptive only

Elite Investor Activity

Reporting holders

3

New holders

3

Increasing

0

Reducing

0

Exiting

0

Coverage

Excellent

Positive disclosed activity · Report period 2023-03-31 · Public 12/18/2023

ManagerChangePortfolio weightRankDisclosed

Insufficient high-confidence manager coverage.

Objective stored changes

What changed

No qualifying changes are recorded for this company in the stored research and filing history.

Ownership timeline

No high-confidence public ownership events are available.

General research only. Not personalized advice. Public filings may be delayed, amended, incomplete, or reflect positions that have changed since the reporting date.