FUN vs PLBY: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: PLBY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FUN and PLBY share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FUN and PLBY exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) runs more than 40 amusement parks, water parks, and resort properties across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, including the legacy Cedar Fair and Six Flags brands. The company was created by the July 1, 2024 merger of Cedar Fair and Six Flags, and it keeps Cedar Fair's old FUN ticker. Revenue comes from admissions, season passes and memberships, and in-park spending on food, beverage, merchandise, and games, with per-capita spending (~$69 in Q1 2026) a key metric the company pushes higher through pricing and mix.

Full FUN guide

Playboy, Inc. (ticker PLBY, formerly PLBY Group) owns the Playboy brand and has spent 2024 through 2026 reshaping itself into an asset-light licensing company. Rather than manufacturing and selling a wide range of its own products, it increasingly licenses the Playboy name to partners who pay royalties, which produces high-margin, recurring revenue with limited capital needs. A cornerstone of this shift is a long-term agreement with Byborg Enterprises, which operates Playboy's digital and media businesses (including Playboy Plus, Playboy TV, and Playboy Club digital) in exchange for large minimum guaranteed royalties over a multi-year term. Management has emphasized a licensing base with a high share of contractually guaranteed payments and a substantial pipeline of unrecognized future royalty revenue, which is meant to make results more predictable than the company's volatile past.

Full PLBY guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FUN drivers: Merger synergies and cost cuts; Attendance and per-capita spending.
• PLBY drivers: Asset-light, high-margin licensing; The Byborg partnership anchor.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The balance sheet is the biggest risk: roughly $5.3 billion of net debt means interest costs consume a large share of cash flow and leave little cushion for a bad season. For PLBY, the central risk is that this is a small-cap turnaround with a heavily leveraged history, so execution matters enormously and setbacks can hit the shares hard.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FUN if you believe its drivers more; PLBY if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FUN and PLBY guides.

FUN. FUN trades at a modest equity value relative to its revenue, but enterprise value is dominated by roughly $5.3 billion of net debt, so the business is valued far more richly on an EV/EBITDA basis than the market cap alone suggests. The reported 2025 net loss was inflated by a large non-cash impairment rather than an operating collapse. Seasonality means quarterly figures swing between profit in summer and losses in the off-season.

PLBY. These are qualitative, directional descriptions tied to the asOf date, not precise live figures; verify current numbers before acting. Playboy is valued as a turnaround: the bull case treats the guaranteed-royalty base and falling debt as the foundation of a stable, high-margin licensor that the market has not yet fully re-rated, while the bear case notes the small size, revenue concentration, and history of losses. Because adjusted EBITDA and contracted royalties drive the story more than any single reported earnings line, focus on the durability of the licensing base and debt trajectory rather than a single multiple.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): FUN shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.1B, fy2025 net revenues ~$3.10B, fy2025 adjusted ebitda ~$792M, fy2025 net loss ~$1.6B (incl. ~$1.5B non-cash impairment); PLBY shows business model Shifting to asset-light licensing plus the retained Honey Birdette DTC brand; smaller revenue base than the old multi-segment company, licensing quality Management cites a high share of contractually guaranteed royalties and a large pipeline of unrecognized future revenue, profitability trend Several consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA; profitability improved sharply year over year in early 2026, balance sheet Senior debt reduced meaningfully through restructuring, lowering financial risk from a leveraged history.

FUN and PLBY are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FUN and PLBY exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.