Best Buy tops Street, lifts full-year guidance
Best Buy reported better-than-expected earnings and sales for its second quarter and raised its full-year guidance.
“As we look to the back half of the year, we expect our industry to continue to show increasing stabilization,” stated Matt Bilunas, Best Buy CFO.
On the chain’s earnings call, CEO Corie Barry said the consumer electronics industry is returning to growth and that the number of consumers choosing to trade-in old electronics for new ones has doubled at Best Buy. But she struck a note of caution in the earnings release.
“We are balancing our optimism in both the industry and our positioning with a pragmatic approach to likely uneven customer behavior going forward,” Barry said.
The company reported net income of $291 million, or $1.34 per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 3, compared with $274 million, or $1.25 per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.16 per share.
Net sales fell to $9.29 billion from $9.58 billion, topping estimates of $9.24 billion. Comparable sales declined 2.3%, compared to a 6.2% decline in the same period last year. The largest drivers of the comp decline were appliances, home theater and gaming, which were partially offset by growth in the tablets, computing and services categories.
In July, Best Buy launched a new strategy designed to boost sales and leverage innovations such as AI to help provide more personalized experiences and tech help for customers.
[READ MORE: Best Buy’s new strategy includes AI, holograms reimagined stores and more]
“We are focused on sharpening our customer experiences and industry positioning while expanding our non-GAAP operating income rate in the current environment,” said CEO Corie Barry. “We see a consumer who is seeking value and sales events, and one who is also willing to spend on high price point products when they need to or when there is new compelling technology.”
For the full year, Best Buy now expects adjusted earnings of $6.10 a share to $6.35 a share, up from its previous outlook of $5.75 a share to $6.20 a share. It expects revenue of $41.3 billion to $41.9 billion, up from its prior guidance of $41.3 billion to $42.6 billion
