Business
Best Buy reports modest sales recovery, but says tariffs are complicating its turnaround
Logo of Best Buy displayed outside a Best Buy store in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on March 22, 2025.
Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Best Buy surpassed Wall Street revenue and earnings expectations for its most recent quarter on Thursday, but stuck with its full-year forecast, citing tariff uncertainty.
On the company’s earnings call, CEO Corie Barry said the retailer is “increasingly confident about our plans for the back half of the year.” She said the company is “trending toward the higher end of our sales range.”
Yet she said, “given the uncertainty of potential tariff impacts in the back half, both on consumers overall as well as our business, we feel it is prudent to maintain the annual guidance we provided last quarter.”
The consumer electronics retailer said it expects revenue of $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share in a range of $6.15 to $6.30 for its full fiscal year 2026. In May, Best Buy had cut its full-year profit guidance from a prior range of $6.20 to $6.60.
The middle of Best Buy’s expected full-year revenue range would be roughly flat to its revenue of $41.53 billion in the previous year. Best Buy said it expects full-year comparable sales, a metric that tracks online sales and sales at stores open at least 14 months, to range between a 1% decline and a 1% increase.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said the company’s full-year guidance reflects that some shoppers could hold off on purchases in the third quarter. He said the retailer could see a slowdown in the business in October “as people are waiting for those holiday deals to come.”
For Best Buy, back-to-school season is a crucial time as families and students come to the store for laptops, tablets and more. Barry said the company has seen “a strong customer response” to its sales events during the season.
“These results demonstrate an important aspect of our thesis: Our model really shines when there is innovation,” she said.
Shares of Best Buy were down about 4% in afternoon trading.
Here’s how the retailer did for the three-month period that ended August 2 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: $1.28 adjusted vs. $1.21 expected
- Revenue: $9.44 billion vs. $9.24 billion expected
Best Buy’s net income for the fiscal second quarter of 2026 fell to $186 million, or 87 cents per share, from $291 million, or $1.34 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusting for one-time items, including restructuring charges, Best Buy reported earnings per share of $1.28.
Revenue increased from $9.29 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Best Buy has been navigating a challenging trifecta of factors. Customers have bought fewer kitchen appliances as they put off home purchases and projects because of higher interest rates. Some have hesitated to splurge on pricier items because of tariff-related uncertainty or held out on tech replacements as they wait for new or eye-catching items. The company’s annual sales have declined for the past three years.
To spur growth, Best Buy launched a third-party marketplace earlier this month to offer shoppers a wider selection of consumer electronics, accessories and more. On the marketplace, sellers who apply for the platform can list their own brands and items on Best Buy’s website and app.
The company already increased prices on some items because of tariff-related higher costs, Barry said on a mid-May call with reporters. She did not specify which items now cost more and described price increases as “the very last resort.”
Still, tariffs did not have a material impact on fiscal second-quarter financial results, Barry said on the company’s earnings call Thursday.
Shopping patterns
Barry said that shopping patterns at Best Buy have not changed from previous quarters. She said customers are “resilient, but deal-focused” and have been attracted to the company’s sales events like the one it held in July.
“In the current environment, customers continue to be thoughtful about big ticket purchases and are willing to spend on high price point products when they need to, or when there is technology innovation,” she said.
Best Buy’s comparable sales rose 1.6% in the fiscal second quarter compared to the year-ago period. That marked the company’s highest growth in three years, Barry said on the company’s earnings call.
In the U.S., comparable sales increased 1.1%, as customers bought mobile phones, video gaming equipment and items from its computing category. However, those sales trends were partially offset by weaker sales of appliances, home theaters, tablets and drones, the company said.
Investors have looked for signs that the replacement cycle is picking up about five years after consumers stocked up on laptops, kitchen appliances, computer screens and more during the Covid pandemic.
There were some indications of that rebound in Best Buy’s second quarter. Barry said the retailer’s computing category marked its sixth consecutive quarter of sales growth. It also recorded the highest number of second-quarter laptop unit sales in 15 years, she said.
Gaming in particular had stronger-than-expected sales in the quarter, thanks to the release of the Nintendo Switch 2, Barry said. The retailer capitalized on the highly anticipated launch by offering a way for customers to pre-order and opening stores at midnight when the gaming console dropped on June 5, so customers could line up and get it right away.
In the back half of the year, Barrie said Best Buy will try to rev up sales in slower categories like appliances and home theater by sharpening price points, adjusting the merchandise it sells and expanding the staffing devoted to them. The retailer has increasingly leaned on its vendor partners to staff stores, bringing in employees of Apple and Samsung for example, to support sales in different parts of its stores.
Barry said the retailer expects brands to ramp up those staffing contributions in the back half of the year.
Along with adding more dedicated brand experts to its stores, Best Buy has added new experiences to attract and engage customers. It’s testing mini-showrooms with Ikea that feature kitchen and laundry room appliances and merchandise from both retailers in 10 stores in Florida and Texas. It is also rolling out new experiences with Breville and SharkNinja to show off trendy coffeemakers, beauty items and more, Barry said. And it has areas in stores where shoppers can try out Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses with Meta AI technology.
For the Nintendo Switch 2 launch, Best Buy worked with Nintendo to double the space in stores ahead of the June launch. Nintendo also brought game trucks to select stores, physical trailers where customers could play with the new system and try out the latest videogames.
Best Buy’s fiscal second-quarter online sales in the U.S. rose 5.1% year over year and accounted for about a third of Best Buy’s total U.S. revenue in the quarter.
Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Francis Chung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said Friday that large U.S. banks could voluntarily provide credit cards to underserved Americans as a means to address President Donald Trump’s affordability push.
A week ago, Trump called for banks to cap credit card interest rates at 10%, an idea that has been roundly rejected by industry executives and their lobbyists this week.
Now, Hassett, who is director of the National Economic Council, is floating a different plan, this one more narrowly focused on consumers who don’t have credit access but have the income to justify credit lines.
“They could potentially voluntarily provide for people who are in that sort of sweet spot of not having financial leverage very much because they don’t have access to credit, but they have enough income and stability in their lives so they’re worthy of credit,” Hassett told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.
“Our expectation is that it won’t necessarily require legislation, because there will be really great new ‘Trump cards’ presented for folks that are voluntarily provided by the banks,” he said.
The comments could indicate that the administration is downgrading its efforts for broad changes to the card industry that would be difficult to enact and that could hit consumer spending and the economy.
This week, bankers discussing fourth-quarter results said that rather than offering cards at a 10% interest rate, as Trump has said should happen by Jan. 20, the banks would simply close many customers’ accounts.
Hassett’s statement came in response to a question about whether bankers would be forced to comply with Trump’s rate cap, a move that would probably require new legislation.
The administration has been talking with “CEOs of many of the big banks who think that the president’s onto something,” Hassett said.
A major credit card issuer and a bank lobbyist representing big lenders told CNBC that they haven’t yet had any discussions with the administration about the “Trump card” concept.
Stocks in London ended little changed on Friday, with blue chips edging lower after notching another record as investors held fire ahead of the long weekend in the US.
“Investors have been kept on their toes year-to-date with non-stop geopolitical issues, and mixed messages from the business world. A quieter day on the corporate reporting calendar gave investors a chance to catch their breath and take stock of events,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
The FTSE 100 index closed down just 3.65 points at 10,235.29. It had earlier hit a new intra-day best level of 10,257.75.
The FTSE 250 ended up 31.39 points, 0.1%, at 23,311.37, and the AIM All-Share closed just 0.27 of a point higher at 804.75.
For the week, the FTSE 100 rose 1.1%, the FTSE 250 climbed 1.2%, and the AIM All-Share advanced 2.1%.
In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris closed down 0.7%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.2% lower.
“There was a slightly negative tone across European stock indices on Friday,” commented David Morrison, senior market analyst, at Trade Nation. “It appeared that investors were more comfortable taking some risk off the table, no doubt mindful that US markets will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day.”
In London, the FTSE 100 was pegged back by weak mining stocks, a key factor behind recent index strength.
The price of copper fell 3.0%, and silver slumped 3.7%, giving up some recent gains, while gold nursed less severe falls.
Gold was quoted at 4,594.24 dollars an ounce on Friday, down from 4,616.76 on Thursday.
In response, Endeavour Mining fell 2.7%, Anglo American declined 2.4%, Antofagasta dipped 2.9%, and Glencore fell 2.5%.
Strategists at Bank of America downgraded the mining sector to ‘underweight’ and lifted energy to ‘market weight’.
“After sharp outperformance for mining, the potential downside risks stemming from the sector’s macro drivers are becoming hard to ignore,” BofA said.
BofA noted that a historical divergence in commodity prices has led to a decoupling among European resources with a surge in metal prices over recent months, including a 50% rally in copper, alongside a “roll-over” in energy prices, with the oil price down 30% to four-year lows recently.
As a result, the copper-to-oil ratio has risen close to a 40-year high, which in turn has led to significant divergence between European resources sectors, with mining outperforming by 40% since April, while energy has underperformed by nearly 15%.
“Resources sector pricing looks stretched in both directions,” BofA added.
Brent oil traded higher at 64.48 dollars a barrel on Friday, up from 63.55 late on Thursday.
Pearson ended a miserable week for investors, with a further 4.1% decline.
The educational publisher has seen its shares fall 12% this week after a poorly received trading update.
A previously undisclosed contract loss for US student assessment in New Jersey, which will drag on first-half growth, was blamed for the stock fall, although analysts note Pearson is confident that the loss of the contract will have no bearing on other renewals in the coming years.
Heading higher were property companies British Land and Land Securities, up 1.4% and 1.3% respectively, on hopes lower interest rates will spark a sector upturn, while BAE Systems, up 2.3%, remained in favour amid geopolitical jitters.
Stocks in New York were little changed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly lower, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.1%, as was the Nasdaq Composite.
Economic data showed that US industrial production rose faster than expected in December.
The Federal Reserve said that on a monthly basis, industrial production increased by 0.4% in December, the same pace as in November, which was revised up from 0.2%. It was better than the FXStreet-cited consensus of a 0.1% uptick.
On an annual basis, total industrial production was 2.0% higher in December than a year prior.
Shannon Glein, analyst at Wells Fargo, said the underlying details show a “key theme from last year – everything high-tech and AI related outperformed”.
“We expect this trend to persist going forward, but it’s also worth noting that the slow yet steady ascent in all other industrial production on a year-ago basis is a sign that broader activity may be starting to recover,” she added.
The pound was quoted lower at 1.3382 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Friday, compared to 1.3388 on Thursday.
The euro stood at 1.1596 dollars, lower against 1.1607.
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.21%, widening from 4.16%. The yield on the US 30-year Treasury was quoted at 4.82%, stretched from 4.78%.
Back in London, Genus led the FTSE 250 risers, advancing 7.8%, after reporting that adjusted pretax profit for the six months to December 31 would be about £50 million, ahead of expectations.
Berenberg pointed out it was “the second guidance raise in the past three months, making it one of the standout performers within our coverage”.
“Importantly, the upgrades are being driven by strong trading in the PIC (pigs) business, which reflects the benefits of the group’s shift towards a royalty-driven model. This is increasing the defensiveness and predictability of earnings and sets a very positive tone for a year that we believe has more positive catalysts to come”, the bank added.
The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were BAE Systems, up 47.0 pence at 2,088.0p, NatWest, up 13.8p at 652.8p, Smiths Group, up 50.0p at 2,612.0p, Schroders, up 8.6p at 467.0p and National Grid, up 20.5p at 1,201.5p.
The biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Pearson, down 39.6p at 939.0p, Entain, down 23.8p at 703.0p, Antofagasta, down 105.0p at 3,560.0p, Endeavour Mining, down 110.0p at 3,996.0p and Glencore, down 12.4p at 478.6p.
Monday’s global economic calendar features a slew of data from China, including GDP, retail sales, and industrial production.
In Canada, inflation figures will be published, while US financial markets are closed for Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Monday’s UK corporate calendar has a trading statement from building materials firm Marshalls.
Later in the week, trading statements are due from luxury goods retailer Burberry, sports retailer JD Sports Fashion and miner Rio Tinto.
Contributed by Alliance News.
Car-sharing firm Zipcar has confirmed it is stopping operations in the UK after launching a consultation late last year.
The move will hit the company’s roughly 650,000 drivers across the country.
On December 1, the US-based company told customers in the UK that it planned to suspend new bookings temporarily at the turn of the year.
The business, which had 71 UK employees at the end of 2024, launched a formal consultation with staff as a result.
On Friday, in a fresh email to customers, the business said it “can now confirm that Zipcar will cease operating in the UK”.
The company added: “In accordance with clause 7.5 of the member terms, please take this as your written notice that we will formally close your account in 30 days’ time.
“It’s not possible to make any new bookings with Zipcar UK at this time, but your account will remain open until February 16.”
It added that customers will be entitled to a pro-rated refund for any remaining periods on current plans or subscriptions, from the start of 2026.
Zipcar said this will be done automatically and will not require any action from users.
Accounts showed that the van and car hire firm saw losses deepen to £5.7 million in 2024 after a decrease in customer trips.
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