Best Buy Co. predicted that sales will fall a second straight year as consumers retreat from electronics and other discretionary goods.
Revenue will slip to between US$43.8 billion and US$45.2 billion in the current fiscal year, the retailer said in a statement Thursday. Even at the high end, that would trail the US$45.7 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg and the US$46.3 billion the company generated last year.
The forecast signals another rocky year for Best Buy as high inflation forces shoppers to spend more on basic goods and think twice before buying televisions, computers and appliances. The company's revenue declined in 2022 as the sales surge that began early in the pandemic fizzled out.
“The consumer electronics industry continues to feel the effects of the broader macro environment and its impact on consumers,” Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas said in the statement. The retailer said pressure on sales would be at its worst in the current quarter.
Best Buy shares fell 1.9 per cent ahead of regular trading in New York. The stock climbed 2.9 per cent this year through Wednesday, while an S&P index of US consumer-discretionary companies advanced 11 per cent. Best Buy sank 21 per cent last year.
Adjusted earnings this year will be no more than US$6.50 a share, Best Buy said. That trailed the US$6.75 estimated by analysts.
Best Buy executives are scheduled to discuss the results on a conference call at 8 a.m. Eastern time.
Advertisement