Key Takeaways
- Best Buy reported lower-than-expected third-quarter profit and revenue as consumers held back spending.
- The electronics retailer blamed ongoing economic worries, customers waiting for deals, and the run-up to the presidential election for the weak performance.
- Best Buy cut its full-year outlook for earnings, revenue, and comparable store sales.
Best Buy (BBY) shares slumped 7% late Tuesday morning after the electronics retailer missed profit and sales estimates and slashed its guidance as consumers pulled back on spending ahead of the key holiday shopping season.
Best Buy posted fiscal 2025 third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26, with revenue falling more than 3% year-over-year to $9.45 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $1.29 and $9.63 billion, respectively.
Comparable store sales fell 2.9%. Domestic comparable store sales slid 2.8%, dragged down by slowing purchases of appliances, home theater, and gaming items. International comparable store sales were down 3.7%, and online comparable store sales lost 1.0%.
CEO Attributes Results To ‘Ongoing Macro Uncertainty, Customers Waiting for Deals’
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Corie Barry said “a combination of the ongoing macro uncertainty, customers waiting for deals and sales events, and distraction during the run-up to the election, particularly in non-essential categories, led to softer-than-expected demand” in the second half of the quarter.
The company predicts full-year EPS of $6.10 to $6.25, compared with the prior outlook of $6.10 to $6.35. It sees revenue of $41.1 billion to $41.5 billion, versus the earlier $41.3 billion to $41.9 billion. It expects comparable store sales will sink 2.5% to 3.5%, down from a 1.5% to 3.0% decline previously.
Despite today’s tumble, shares of Best Buy are 11% higher year-to-date.
UPDATE—This article has been updated with a new headline and the latest share price information.
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