Best Buy earnings beat Wall Streets forecasts, company raises outlook

Core Insights - Best Buy reported third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street estimates, leading to an increase in its full-year outlook as it approaches the holiday shopping season [1][2] Financial Performance - Same-store sales increased by 2.7% in the third quarter, surpassing the 1.6% expected by analysts [1] - Adjusted earnings per share were $1.40, exceeding the anticipated $1.30, with revenue of $9.67 billion, higher than the expected $9.58 billion [1] - For the full year, same-store sales are now expected to grow between 0.5% and 1.2%, an improvement from the previous forecast of a 1% decline to a 1% increase [2] Sales Breakdown - U.S. same-store sales rose by 2.4%, online same-store sales increased by 3.5%, and international same-store sales jumped by 6.3%, all showing improvement compared to the previous year [2] Future Outlook - Best Buy forecasts revenue between $41.65 billion and $41.95 billion, up from the previous range of $41.1 billion to $41.9 billion, with adjusted earnings per share expected to be between $6.25 and $6.35 [3] - The company anticipates same-store sales growth for the fourth quarter to be in the range of a 1% decline to a 1% increase, with an adjusted operating income rate of 4.8% to 4.9% [4] Strategic Insights - CEO Corie Barry indicated that sales were driven by strong performance in computing, gaming, and mobile phones, attributing growth to innovation and replacement cycles [3][5] - Barry noted that customers are willing to pay more for upgrades to "future-proof" their technology in anticipation of further advancements in AI [5]