Best Buy (BBY) earnings Q4 2024

Best Buy surpassed Wall Street’s revenue and earnings expectations for the holiday quarter on Thursday, even as the retailer navigated through a period of tepid consumer electronics demand and guided to a softer year ahead.

For this fiscal year, Best Buy anticipates revenue will range from $41.3 billion to $42.6 billion. That would mark a drop from the most recently ended fiscal year, when full-year revenue totaled $43.45 billion. It said comparable sales will range from flat to a 3% decline.

One challenge that will affect sales in the year ahead: It is a week shorter. Best Buy said the extra week in the past fiscal year lifted revenue by about $735 million and boosted diluted earnings per share by about 30 cents.

In a news release on Thursday, CEO Corie Barry said Best Buy expects the coming year to be one “of increasing industry sales stabilization.”

She said the company is “focused on sharpening our customer experiences and industry positioning,” along with driving up its operating income rate. That metric is expected to improve in the coming year, as Best Buy benefits from changes to its annual membership program, a newer money maker for the retailer.

Here’s what the consumer electronics retailer reported for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2024 compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $2.72, adjusted vs. $2.52 expected
• Revenue: $14.65 billion vs. $14.56 billion expected

Best Buy has been in a period of slower sales in part due to the strength of its sales during the pandemic. Like home improvement companies, Best Buy saw outsized spending as shoppers were stuck at home. Plus, many items that the retailer sells like laptops, refrigerators and home theater systems tend to be pricier and less frequent purchases.

The retailer has cited other challenges, too: Shoppers have been…