Completing the spin-off of its college division into Barnes & Noble Education, a separate public company, B&N reported first quarter revenues of $239 million for BNE, an increase of $13.3 million (or 5.9%) over the same period a year ago. The increase was credited to new store growth and a 1.8% increase in comparable store sales.

BNE became a separate public company on August 2, 2015, after Barnes & Noble, Inc. completed the separation of its Retail and College businesses.

CEO of BNE, Max J. Roberts, pointed to the growth in sales and new stores, saying he was "pleased with the performance of our business.” He went on: “We continue to win new contracts, opening 21 new stores with estimated annual sales of $45.0 million in the first quarter of 2016."

Roberts added: “We are seeing strong customer engagement in our stores and across all our digital channels, cementing the campus bookstore as the student’s first choice.”