Barnes & Noble Education Inc ( BNED ) stock is trading sharply higher Tuesday morning after the company released promising preliminary financial results and announced the conclusion of an internal accounting investigation. Here’s what investors need to know.

BNED is among today’s top performers. Get the scoop here.

What To Know: Investors responded positively to the company’s financial turnaround announced on Tuesday. For the fiscal year ended May 3, 2025, Barnes & Noble expects preliminary revenue of $1.6 billion, a 2.6% increase year-over-year, alongside a 7.5% rise in comparable store sales.

More notably, the company projects a swing to profitability for the first half of fiscal 2026, anticipating net income between $3.0 million and $8.0 million, a sharp reversal from the previous year’s loss.

Market sentiment was further lifted by the resolution of an audit investigation, which confirmed that accounting irregularities were the isolated actions of a single, now-terminated employee who made improper manual journal entries.

Operational highlights included a 25.3% revenue jump in the “First Day” course material program and a strengthened balance sheet, with net debt expected to decrease by nearly $92 million year-over-year.

CEO Jonathan Shar emphasized that the company is now focused on building momentum through strong execution.

Benzinga Edge Rankings: Reflecting this recent market enthusiasm, Benzinga Edge rankings currently assign BNED a Momentum score of 10.06.

BNED Price Action: Barnes & Noble Education ( BNED ) shares were up 36.7% at $9.14 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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How To Buy BNED Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Barnes & Noble Education ( BNED ) – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy “fractional shares,” which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to “go short” a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

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