Build-A-Bear Roars Back From Near-Extinction To ROI Monster

If you thought teddy bears were just for kids, you haven’t checked the stock market lately. Had you put $1K into Build-A-BearBBW

five years ago, you’d be sitting on $25K today thanks to its jaw-dropping recovery. Not bad for a company left for dead during COVID, when empty malls and shuttered stores almost put this bear-maker into permanent hibernation.

• Record-breaking numbers packed back-to-back quarters — withBBW
  ’s latest earnings sealing its strongest YTD start as revenue hit $128.4M, and diluted EPS rose ~43% from last year.
• The nostalgic brand reinvented itself by opening 64 new locations last year, ramping up e-commerce, and aggressively returning capital to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.

Why it matters now: Even after a 2,400% rally, Zacks still pegs Build-A-Bear as undervalued. The investment research house points to its price-to-earnings ratio (13.3x) that sits well below the industry’s (32.7x), and a price-to-cash-flow less than half the average peer. Of course, every bull run on Wall Street eventually meets its bear, so don’t get too attached to the plush.