Connect with us

Business

Best Buy’s holiday sales disappoint, but retailer shows progress in growing profits

Published

on

Best Buy’s holiday sales disappoint, but retailer shows progress in growing profits


Sign at the main entrance to a Best Buy store in Venice, Florida.

Erik McGregor | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Best Buy posted mixed results on Tuesday as the retailer’s holiday-quarter sales declined and missed Wall Street’s expectations, but its earnings topped estimates as it showed improved profitability.

For the current fiscal year, the consumer electronics retailer expects revenue to range between $41.2 billion and $42.1 billion, compared with $41.69 billion in the most recent fiscal year. It expects adjusted earnings per share to range from $6.30 to $6.60, after it reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.43 for the previous fiscal year. 

Best Buy anticipates that comparable sales, a metric that tracks sales online and in stores open at least 14 months, will range from a decline of 1% to an increase of 1%.

In a news release, CEO Corie Barry said demand for consumer electronics remained lackluster during the gift-giving season, but the company’s internal data indicates that Best Buy’s market share in the industry “was at least flat.”

Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said in his own statement that the company is “excited about the momentum in our business.” But he added that company leaders “expect to continue to navigate a mixed macro environment.” 

Shares jumped more than 10% in premarket trading.

Here’s how the retailer did for the fiscal fourth quarter compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: $2.61 adjusted vs. $2.47 expected
  • Revenue: $13.81 billion vs. $13.88 billion expected

In the three-month period that ended Jan. 31, Best Buy’s net income jumped to $541 million, or $2.56 per share, from $117 million, or 54 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding one-time expenses, including charges for its health business, Best Buy reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.61. 

Revenue decreased from $13.95 billion in the year-ago quarter. Yet on an annual basis, revenue rose to $41.69 billion from $41.53 billion in the prior fiscal year. Best Buy’s annual revenue declined in the three previous fiscal years.

For about four years, Best Buy has pinned its slower sales on more price-sensitive U.S. consumers, a slower housing market and less tech innovation. All of those factors have caused some shoppers to delay tech purchases, particularly big-ticket items like new refrigerators. Higher tariffs have also added costs for Best Buy, since many consumer electronics are imported.

Comparable sales dropped 0.8% in the fourth quarter as the company saw softer sales of appliances and home theaters. Those declines were partially offset by sales growth in computing and mobile phones, the company said.

Best Buy has leaned into more profitable businesses, including selling ads and offering more merchandise through its third-party marketplace, which launched in August. Barry said in the company’s news release that Best Buy’s advertising partners nearly doubled compared to the prior year and she said the retailer has significantly increased the number of available products on the marketplace.

The company has a scheduled earnings call at 9 a.m. ET.



Source link

Business

Scams have grown more sophisticated, but people are fighting back

Published

on

Scams have grown more sophisticated, but people are fighting back


As governments across the world restricted the movements of their citizens during Covid lockdowns from 2020, people spent more time online. We bought more online and socialised more online, and this brought us closer to the people who want to scam us. At the same time, realistic video impersonations, voices, websites, and texts became more commonplace, and scammers increased their use of social media including WhatsApp.



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Fuel costs: I can’t afford to go to work, says home care worker

Published

on

Fuel costs: I can’t afford to go to work, says home care worker



The conflict in the Middle East has caused rapid price rises for both petrol and diesel.



Source link

Continue Reading

Business

NaBFID signs pact with PDCOR to expand advisory support for state projects – The Times of India

Published

on

NaBFID signs pact with PDCOR to expand advisory support for state projects – The Times of India


The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Projects Development Company of Rajasthan Limited (PDCOR) to strengthen advisory services for state and city-level infrastructure projects.The agreement will also allow both institutions to jointly explore financing and transaction advisory opportunities, including transaction structuring, commercial and technical due diligence, and support for financial closure of projects undertaken by state governments and urban local bodies across India, according to PTI.“This collaboration seeks to enhance access to long-term institutional finance for State Governments and Urban Local Bodies, while strengthening the infrastructure advisory and financing ecosystem,” Rajkiran Rai G., Managing Director of NaBFID, said.He added that the partnership would help both institutions jointly pursue project advisory opportunities, develop replicable financing frameworks, accelerate financial closures and mobilise capital across the infrastructure value chain.Monika Kalia, DMD-CFO, NaBFID, said the tie-up would leverage the strengths of both organisations to provide much-needed advisory support to states and urban local bodies for impactful urban infrastructure projects.Dileep Chingapurath, Chief Executive Officer, PDCOR, said the agreement would address the long-felt need for end-to-end professional support to structure and mobilise sustainable financing solutions, particularly for state governments and their agencies.“Through this collaboration, both institutions aim to enhance the quality of project preparation, mobilise institutional capital more effectively and accelerate the implementation of sustainable infrastructure projects across states and municipalities,” he said.NaBFID is a Development Financial Institution focused on long-term infrastructure financing, while PDCOR is an undertaking of the Government of Rajasthan.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending