Dave & Buster's Shares Down 6% After Earnings Beat, But Weaker Growth

Shares of Dave & Buster's Entertainment Inc. shares fell 6% late Tuesday after the casual-dining chain beat fourth-quarter per-share earnings expectations but called for lower-than-expected same-store sales for 2017. It also missed quarterly comparable-store sales expectations. Dave & Buster's said it earned $27.4 million, or 63 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $23 million, or 53 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2015. Revenue rose 15% to $270.2 million in the quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected per-share earnings of 59 cents on sales of $270 million. Comparable-store sales rose 3.2%, compared with expectations of a 3.7% growth, according to FactSet. The company said it expects 2017 sales between $1.15 billion and $1.17 billion and a comparable-store sales increase between 2% and 3%. The analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a comparable-store sales growth around 3.6% for the year. Shares had ended the regular session up 2.3%.