Best Buy beats quarterly sales estimates on stable demand

A shopper carts his purchased LED TV at a Best Buy. (AP / Alan Diaz)

Best Buy posted a surprise rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, driven by strong online sales and a surge in demand for artificial intelligence-powered computers, mobile phones and other devices.

However, shares fell two per cent in premarket trading as the top U.S. electronics retailer maintained its annual sales and profit forecasts. The stock is down about 12 per cent this year.

Best Buy has posted three straight years of declining sales, following the pandemic era sales boom, as cautious consumers increasingly dodge higher prices by waiting for attractive deals during key promotional periods such as back-to-school and holiday shopping events.

Comparable sales for the quarter ended Aug. 2 rose 1.6 per cent, compared with analysts’ average expectations of a 0.52% drop, according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company expects comparable sales for fiscal year 2026 in the range between a one per cent drop and a one per cent rise and an adjusted profit of between US$6.15 and $6.30 per share.

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)