The third quarter saw Best Buy put up solid numbers and beat a Wall Street estimate despite a dip in appliance sales.
Net earnings were $140 million, or 66 cents per diluted share, versus $273 million, or $1.26 per diluted share in the year-prior quarter. Adjusted for one-time events, the company noted, earnings per diluted share were $1.40 versus $1.26 in the period a year earlier.
An analyst consensus estimate from Zacks Investment Research called for earnings per adjusted diluted share of $1.31 and revenues of $9.58 billion.
Comparable sales advanced 2.7% year over year. Revenues were $9.67 billion versus $9.45 billion in the year-before quarter. Sales at Best Buy’s domestic segment improved to $8.88 billion from $8.7 billion in the year-past period, with comps up 2.4%.
Operating income was $198 million versus $350 million in the quarter a year previous, while adjusted operating income was $388 million versus $351 million.
Best Buy updated full-year guidance going from revenue of $41.65 billion to $41.95 billion, versus $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion previously with comps up 0.5% to 1.2% versus down 1% to up 1% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $6.25 to $6.35 versus $6.15 to $6.30 previously.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said during a conference call third-quarter sales in computing, gaming and mobile phones were strong with advances in wearables and headphones, as well. Home theater, appliance and drone categories were soft, she noted.
The company reported tariff effects were minimal on its pricing across the enterprise, mitigated by company efforts and the inherently promotional nature of the consumer tech sector.
“We are pleased to report better-than-expected sales and adjusted operating income rate for the third quarter,” Barry said. “Our comparable sales grew 2.7% as we continued to drive strong results across computing, gaming and mobile phones. We delivered sales growth across both online and stores, saw continued improvements in customer experience ratings and launched our Best Buy marketplace. We are flexing the unique strength of our model as customers need to upgrade or replace their consumer electronics and new products and innovation are coming to market.”
