Best Buy says softer demand is sticking around, but company isn’t planning for a recession

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Customers shop at a Best Buy store on August 24, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. Best Buy reported an increase in second-quarter sales of nearly 20% as consumers purchased electronics to adjust to lifestyle changes related to the ongoing pandemic.

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Best Buy shares rose early Tuesday, as the consumer electronics retailer beat Wall Street’s revenue estimates for the fiscal first quarter even as customers faced high levels of inflation and the company lapped a year-ago period fueled by Covid stimulus.

Shares were up about 6% in premarket trading.

Here’s how the retailer did in the three-month period ended April 30 compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, according to a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

Earnings per share: $1.57 adjusted vs. $1.61 expectedRevenue: $10.65 billion vs. $10.41 billion expected

Best Buy’s first-quarter net income fell to $341million, or $1.49 per share, down from $595 million, or $2.32 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned an adjusted $1.61 per share.

Net salesdecreased to $10.41 billion from $11.64 billion a year earlier.

Best Buy’s shares hit a 52-week low on Friday. On Monday, shares rose less than 1% to close at $72.59. The company’s stock is down about 29% so far this year and are underperforming the S&P 500’s year-to-date decline of about 17%.

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