Consumer electronics retailer Best Buy on Thursday beat Wall Street's targets for its fiscal fourth quarter, though sales and earnings fell amid weak consumer spending. BBY stock fell on the news.
The Richfield, Minn.-based company earned an adjusted $2.61 a share on sales of $14.74 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 28. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Best Buy to earn $2.10 a share on sales of $14.72 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Best Buy earnings fell 4% while sales declined 10%.
For the current year, Best Buy predicted adjusted earnings of $6.10 a share on sales of $44.5 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its outlook. However, analysts were looking for earnings of $6.72 a share on sales of $45.7 billion. In the just-finished year, Best Buy earned $7.08 a share, down 29%, on sales of $46.3 billion, down 11%.
"We believe the macro and industry backdrop will continue to be pressured in fiscal 2024 and we will continue to adjust," Chief Executive Corie Barry said in a news release.
BBY Stock Retreats After Report
Personal computers, home theater, appliances and mobile phones saw the biggest sales declines in the fourth quarter. Growth in gaming products and tablets helped to offset those declines.
In other news, Best Buy increased its quarterly dividend by 5% to 92 cents a share.
On the stock market today, BBY stock sank 2.1% to close at 80.79.
BBY stock has a subpar IBD Composite Rating of 48 out of 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The Composite Rating scores a stock's key growth metrics against all other stocks regardless of industry group.
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