The stock price is down about 5% in pre-market trading after the consumer electronics and home entertainment retailer unveiled results that CEO Hubert Joly says were “clearly unsatisfactory.” Best Buy reports a net loss of $10M for the quarter that ended on November 3, down from a $156M profit in the period last year, on revenues of $10.75B, -3.5%. The revenue figure is just a hair ahead of the $10.73B that analysts expected. But the 4 cent net loss per share for continuing operations contrasts with the Street’s expectation for a 12 cent profit. Even without its previously announced restructuring charges — mostly for store closures — EPS would just be 3 cents a share. Best Buy says that sales at domestic stores open at least a year fell 4% with declines in notebook computers, gaming consoles, digital imaging, and television sets. The company believes that notebook and tablet sales were hurt as consumers waited for what it calls “major product launches” including Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. The slide at the bricks-and-mortar stores outweighed a 10% gain in online sales to $431M. Mobile phones, appliances, and tablets and eReaders were especially popular with online shoppers. All together, revenues for the domestic store unit fell 4.7% to $7.67B as operating income dropped 94% to $16M.
Meanwhile sales at international stores open at least a year fell 5.2%, as the operation generated revenues of $3.1B, down less than 1%, with an operating loss of $4M, down from last year’s $132M profit. With the lousy results, Best Buy lowered its financial guidance for the current fiscal year that ends in early January: It now projects as much as $1.05B in free cash flow, down from the maximum $1.5B it anticipated in August. Last week Best Buy told analysts that it plans to cut costs and re-invigorate sales by improving training for its sales staff and upgrading its website. “The results we are reporting today only strengthen our sense of urgency and purpose,” Joly says.


Their early Black Friday event for loyal customers was a disaster yesterday. Their website crashed as well as their phone lines. Many angry customers. No wonder they are heading to failure. Best buy can say hi to circuit city
Best Buy still is one of the best all-around electronic stores around. If I want hard to get Criterion collections I have small video all around store to go to. Hate to lose them . This holidays is a make or break for Best Buy
No surprise here. I’d hate to see them go under, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Apple, Amazon and Barnes and Noble make products that make money for them when people use them. Best Buy doesn’t really have such a thing. They also don’t have as many computer parts readily available compared to Frys, so there’s rarely a reason to go anymore. Video accessories, like cables, are overpriced compared to online retailers. Apple products don’t differ enough in price from place to place and I don’t know anyone who cares about Windows 8.
Fry’s is privatly owned and does not report profit/loss, so who really knows how well they’re actually doing.
This store/company will be finished one year from now, I predict.
Case and point: I tried to buy a WWE DVD that just came out yesterday and their stores didn’t even bother shelving the damn things and yet four hours later, they are miraculously available?
These are to be stocked before the store actually opens and yet they just decided to do so in the late afternoon/early evening?
Give me a break! Then trying to contact their customer service to complain about this, only to be lied to and having stories made up about being an online exclusive when in reality, it wasn’t. Just one of many reasons why this store is heading for bankruptcy and liquidation in 2013. They just have no clue!!!