Business
Best Buy hikes sales forecast as shoppers upgrade tech, splurge on devices
A Best Buy store in Pinole, California, US, on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. Best Buy Co. is expected to release earnings figures on November 25.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Best Buy hiked its full-year forecast Tuesday, as it topped Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations and customers turned to the retailer to upgrade laptops and splurge on new gaming consoles and smartphones.
The consumer electronics retailer said it now expects revenue of between $41.65 billion to $41.95 billion for the full year, higher than its previous range of $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion. It expects adjusted earnings per share of $6.25 to $6.35, compared with its prior range of $6.15 to $6.30.
Best Buy said it expects full-year comparable sales, a metric that tracks sales online and at stores open at least 14 months, to range between a 0.5% rise to a 1.2% increase, compared with its previous expectations for a 1% decline and a 1% climb.
On the company’s earnings call, CEO Corie Barry said Best Buy saw “better-than-expected” sales in the quarter because of strong results across computing, gaming and mobile phones, as well as growth in wearables and headphones. She said sales rose across both its website and stores.
She said customer shopping behavior in the most recent three-month period was about the same as what Best Buy has seen for the past several quarters.
“Customers remain resilient, but deal focused and attracted to more predictable sales moments,” such as back-to-school sales and Best Buy’s October sale that coincided with Amazon’s Prime Day event, she said.
And she said, “while customers continued to be thoughtful about big ticket purchases in the current environment, they are willing to spend on high priced point products when they need to or when there is technology innovation.”
Here’s how the retailer did for the three-month period that ended Nov. 1 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.40 adjusted vs. $1.31 expected
- Revenue: $9.67 billion vs. $9.59 billion expected
Shares were up about 6% in afternoon trading on Tuesday. As of Monday’s close, Best Buy’s stock has dropped by about 12% this year. That compares with the 14% gains of the S&P 500 during the same period.
Best Buy has been waiting for some of the key catalysts that tend to drive its business, such as higher housing turnover that leads to appliance purchases, the tech innovations that spark demand for devices and expert advice, and the increased willingness by inflation-weary consumers to splurge on discretionary items.
Some of that tech innovation appears to be gaining momentum with sales of the Nintendo Switch 2, new iPhones and AI-enabled laptops. The company called out those merchandise categories as strengths in the most recent three-month period.
Best Buy’s net income for the fiscal third quarter fell to $140 million, or 66 cents per share, from net income of $273 million, or $1.26 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusting for one-time items, including stock-based compensation and restructuring charges, Best Buy reported earnings of $1.40.
Revenue rose from $9.45 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Best Buy’s comparable sales increased 2.7% year over year. That was the company’s highest comparable sales growth in four years, Barry said.
In the U.S., the metric jumped 2.4%, as shoppers bought computers, gaming systems and mobile phones, but purchased fewer appliances and home theaters.
Getting ready for the holidays
Best Buy’s annual revenue has dropped for the past three years. With the updated guidance, the company expects annual revenue to be slightly higher than last year’s total of $41.53 billion.
Still, like other retailers, Best Buy said it’s continuing to see shoppers spend selectively and seek out value, and anticipates that will carry into the holiday season, Barry said on a call with reporters.
“We absolutely are seeing people make trade offs,” she said.
For instance, she said, some customers are buying TVs in the middle or lower tier of its price range rather than premium TVs. However, she said Best Buy’s reputation as a specialty retailer with many different brands and price points is helping it attract more low-income and younger customers.
As the holiday season heats up, Barry said the company is ready for key sales days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and will have “deals across the spectrum for whenever people want to shop.”
Even so, the retailer gave a cautious outlook for the holiday quarter, saying it expects sales trends to decelerate from the previous quarter. Bilunas said the company expects comparable sales during the period to range from a 1% decline to a 1% increase.
On the company’s earnings call, he said Best Buy is seeing “positive growth” in the fourth quarter and a roughly similar trend to the third quarter, but faces tougher year over year comparisons and may see waning trends in some categories like gaming and wearables. In gaming, Nintendo Switch 2 sales haven’t been as strong as they were closer to the June launch.
“Obviously, the holiday is never easy to predict,” he said.” What we do believe is that we have a range of scenarios and the range we’ve provided gives us a great place to plan and plan our business operationally.”
Higher tariffs will be a complicating factor for the rest of the year, both in how they affect the company’s costs and consumer spending. On the company’s earnings call, Bilunas said higher tariffs so far haven’t had a meaningful impact on Best Buy’s prices or its sales. He said growth is coming from more unit sales.
Compared to other industries, he said, consumer electronics are a very promotional category and that’s muted the impact on average selling prices, he said.
Trying out Meta glasses, Sharkninja appliances
At Best Buy’s stores, the company has tried to give customers more reasons to try products by adding more vendor demos, Barry said on the company’s earnings call. For example, she said more than 50 of its locations have immersive showcase areas for Meta’s latest AI-enabled glasses, and demand for in-person demos has outpaced available appointments.
It has launched most of its pilot showrooms with Ikea, which it is testing in 10 stores across Texas and Florida. And other vendors, including Breville and Sharkninja, are also showing off items for home baristas and chefs or customers looking for health and beauty devices in its stores, she said.
Barry said “very early reads are positive and we are excited to monitor customer response during the holidays.”
To help drive growth, Best Buy also launched a third-party marketplace in mid-August to expand the brands and the items that it sells. About three months into the launch, the company has more than 1,000 sellers and 11 times more individual items available for online customers than it did before, Barry said on the earnings call.
So far, she said the company is seeing higher sales in categories like accessories and small appliances. She said customer return rates for marketplace items have run lower than first-party purchases, and more than 80% of marketplace product returns by customers have been at stores.
As the marketplace grows, she said it’s driving higher profits and creating new opportunities for Best Buy to sell online ads.
Despite the positive signs, some of Best Buy’s categories, including appliances, continue to lag.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said the appliance category is “probably the most difficult one that we have in the market today.” He said historically, the company has sold new premium appliances and sets of appliances.
With the slower housing market, he said the company is seeing more shoppers replace a product that’s broken rather than buy a washer and dryer pair, and promotions haven’t been as effective. To speed up sales, Best Buy plans to increase its labor in the department, speed up deliveries to better compete with rivals and even make some items available same day, he said.
“And hopefully as housing and different things change, then the market starts to swing back to something that might be a little bit more normal,” he said.
Business
Peel Hunt cheers ‘positive steps’ in Budget to boost London market and investing
UK investment bank Peel Hunt has given some support to under-pressure Chancellor Rachel Reeves over last week’s Budget as it said efforts to boost the London market and invest in UK companies were “positive steps”.
Peel Hunt welcomed moves announced in the Budget, such as the stamp duty exemption for shares bought in newly listed firms on the London market and changes to Isa investing.
It comes as Ms Reeves has been forced to defend herself against claims she misled voters by talking up the scale of the fiscal challenge in the run-up to last week’s Budget, in which she announced £26 billion worth of tax rises.
Peel Hunt said: “Following a prolonged period of pre-Budget speculation, businesses and investors now have greater clarity from which they can start to plan.
“The key measures were generally well received by markets, particularly the creation of additional headroom against the Chancellor’s fiscal rules.
“Initiatives such as a stamp duty holiday on initial public offerings (IPOs) and adjustments to the Isa framework are intended to support UK capital markets and encourage investment in British companies.
“These developments, alongside the Entrepreneurship in the UK paper published simultaneously, represent positive steps toward enhancing the UK’s attractiveness for growth businesses and long-term investors.”
Ms Reeves last week announced a three-year stamp duty holiday on shares bought in new UK flotations as part of a raft of measures to boost investment in UK shares.
She also unveiled a change to the individual savings account (Isa) limit that lowers the cash element to £12,000 with the remaining £8,000 now redirected into stocks and shares.
But the Chancellor also revealed an unexpected increase in dividend tax, rising by 2% for basic and higher rate taxpayers next year, which experts have warned “undermines the drive to increase investing in Britain”.
Peel Hunt said the London IPO market had begun to revive in the autumn, although listings activity remained low during its first half to the end of September.
Firms that have listed in London over recent months include The Beauty Tech Group, small business lender Shawbrook and tinned tuna firm Princes.
Peel Hunt added that deal activity had “continued at pace” throughout its first half, with 60 transactions announced across the market during that time and 10 active bids for FTSE 350 companies, as at the end of September.
Half-year results for Peel Hunt showed pre-tax profits jumped to £11.5 million in the six months to September 30, up from £1.2 million a year earlier, as revenues lifted 38.3%.
Peel Hunt said its workforce has been cut by nearly 10% since the end of March under an ongoing savings drive, with full-year underlying fixed costs down by around £5 million.
Steven Fine, chief executive of Peel Hunt, said: “The second half has started strongly, with the group continuing to play leading roles across both mergers and acquisitions and equity capital markets mandates.”
Business
Gross GST collections for November stand at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore; up 0.7 per cent – The Times of India
GST collections: The Gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the month of November came in at over Rs 1.70 lakh crore. This is a rise of 0.7%, according to official data.SBI Research in a report in November had estimated that the gross domestic GST collections may come around Rs 1.49 lakh crore for November 25 (returns of October 25 but filed in Nov’25), a YoY growth of 6.8%.“Coupled with Rs 51,000 crore of IGST and cess on Import, the November GST collections thus could cross Rs 2.0 lakh crore, driven by the peak festive season demand led by lower GST rate and increased compliance while most of states experience positive gains,” SBI Research had said.This story is being updated
Business
Key Financial Deadlines That Have Been Extended For December 2025; Know The Last Date
New Delhi: Several crucial deadlines have been extended in December 2025, including ITR for tax audit cases, ITR filing and PAN and Aadhaar linking. These deadlines will be crucial in ensuring that your financial affairs operate smoothly in the months ahead.
Here is a quick rundown of the important deadlines for December to help you stay compliant and avoid last-minute hassles.
ITR deadline for tax audit cases
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date of furnishing of return of income under sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act for the Assessment Year 2025-26 which is October 31, 2025 in the case of assessees referred in clause (a) of Explanation 2 to sub-Section (1) of Section 139 of the Act, to December 10, 2025.
Belated ITR filing deadline
A belated ITR filing happens when an ITR is submitted after the original due date which is permitted by Section 139(4) of the Income Tax Act. Filing a belated return helps you meet your tax obligations, but it involves penalties. You can only file a belated return for FY 2024–25 until December 31, 2025. However, there will be a late fee and interest charged.
PAN and Aadhaar linking deadline
The Income Tax Department has extended the deadline to link their PAN with Aadhaar card to December 31, 2025 for anyone who acquired their PAN using an Aadhaar enrolment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss this deadline your PAN will become inoperative which will have an impact on your banking transactions, income tax return filing and other financial investments.
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