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
Shop price inflation eases but food costs still 3.5% up on a year ago
Shop price inflation eased in February but consumers are still paying 3.5% more for food than a year ago, figures show.
Overall shop inflation fell slightly to 1.1% from January’s 1.5%, in line with the three-month average of 1.1%, as fierce competition between retailers kept price rises in check and customers benefited from promotions across health, beauty and fashion, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ.
Prices of products other than food were down 0.1% year on year, a significant drop from January’s growth of 0.3%.
Overall food inflation fell slightly to 3.5% from 3.9% in January, while fresh food prices remained 4.3% higher than last February, a slight drop from January’s 4.4% and above the three-month average of 4.2%.
However falling global costs pushed ambient food inflation down to 2.3% – its lowest level in four years and a significant fall from January’s 3.1%.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Households got some welcome relief in February as shop price inflation eased.
“While the direction of travel is promising, prices are still rising, and many consumers remain under pressure.”
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, said: “Since the start of the year, we have seen some competitive pricing across both the food and non-food channels which is helping to bring down inflation.
“Whilst the inclement weather and weak sentiment is making consumer demand rather unpredictable for retailers, at least shoppers are now seeing some of their cost-of-living pressures start to ease.”
Business
West Asia conflict: Govt may ask companies to cut exports, increase auto fuel, LPG supplies – The Times of India
NEW DELHI: Amid fears of a shortage in crude supplies, govt is looking to nudge refiners to divert more auto fuel and LPG to the domestic market by cutting on exports and also increase cooking gas production so that there is no disruption in local supplies.While govt and oil companies insisted there’s no shortage, refiners are looking at alternate sources to partly compensate for crude coming from war-hit West Asia.

The tension has led to a spike in oil and gas prices, and given India’s dependence on imports, inflating the import bill and stoking inflationary pressures. Officials, however, said retail fuel prices may not rise immediately, as oil marketing companies follow a calibrated approach — absorbing losses when global prices are high and recouping them when prices soften. Retail petrol and diesel prices have remained unchanged since April 2022.Mantri meets oil cos to assess availability of crude and gasOn a day when Iranian drones damaged part of Saudi Aramco refinery and Qatar Energy’s facilities, the world’s largest LNG producer, announced an export pause, petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri and his team of officials met oil companies on Monday to assess the availability of crude and gas. “We are continuously monitoring the evolving situation, and all steps will be taken to ensure availability and affordability of major petroleum products in the country,” the oil ministry said in a post on X.India imports nearly 90% of its crude requirement. It also meets 60-65% of its LPG demand and about 60% of its LNG needs through imports, largely from West Asia, with shipments routed via Strait of Hormuz, which risks being choked due to the war.

According to the International Energy Agency, in 2023, 5.9% of the country’s production was being exported. Between April and Dec 2025, India exported petroleum products worth nearly $330 billion, with the Netherlands, UAE, the US, Singapore, Australia and China being the main destinations. In 2024, it also exported petroleum gas worth $454 million, mostly to Nepal, China, and Myanmar. The Reliance refinery in Jamnagar is the largest exporter in the country.An oil company executive said refiners are already in contact with traders to tie up capacities amid fears of the blockade of Strait of Hormuz. By Monday, the global market had caught the jitters from Qatar’s decision to suspend gas shipments.An oil executive said while disruption could cause difficulties in the immediate term, Indian players had a wide portfolio that they can tap for LNG, including the US, with vessels being routed through the Suez Canal.“Even if there is a force majeure, we have other sources of supply, which we can tap. Besides, no one is going to stop supplies indefinitely,” the executive said. While oil and gas prices rose Monday, the focus is on ensuring that supply lines remain open.
Business
Travel stocks fall after thousands of flights grounded following Iran strikes
A display board shows canceled flights to Dubai and Doha amid regional airspace closures at Noi Bai International Airport, amid the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, in Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.
Thinh Nguyen | Reuters
Airline and travel stocks slipped Monday after airspace closures throughout the Middle East forced carriers to cancel thousands of flights, disrupting trips as far as Brazil and the Philippines.
Cruise lines stocks also fell sharply, with Royal Caribbean Cruises dropping 3% and Carnival Corp. losing more than 7%.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings‘ stock fell 10% after its earnings call disappointed investors. Elliott Investment Management said last month that it had built a more than 10% stake in the company and that it’s seeking changes. New CEO John Chidsey told analysts that “our strategy is sound, our execution and coordination have not been, and a culture of accountability is essential and necessary going forward.”
Oil prices also rose, potentially driving up airlines’ biggest cost after labor. Flights through the Middle East were grounded, including to destinations like Tel Aviv and Dubai.
United Airlines, which has the most international exposure of the U.S. carriers, fell nearly 3%. Service to Tel Aviv, Israel, one of the airline’s most profitable routes, was halted, but airlines were also was forced to pause flights to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, one of the busiest airport hubs in the world. Dubai is also a home base for the airline Emirates.
Shares of American Airlines lost 4% while Delta Air Lines fell 2%.
More than 11,000 Middle East flights have been canceled since the U.S.-Israeli strikes this weekend, according to aviation-data firm Cirium.
International travel has been a bright spot in the travel sector. In January, international air travel demand jumped 5.9% from a year ago while domestic flight demand was nearly flat, the International Air Transport Association, an airline industry group, said in a report Monday.
— CNBC’s Contessa Brewer contributed to this report.
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