Best Buy Misses All Targets in Q3 Earnings Report, Stock Tumbles

Best Buy’s Q3 earnings report was disappointing both for the company and its investors, with its CEO, Corie Barry, describing the company’s recent misfortunes as coming from several different points of origin.

“During the second half of the quarter, a combination of the ongoing macro uncertainty, customers waiting for deals and sales events, and distraction during the run-up to the election, particularly in non-essential categories, led to softer-than-expected demand,” Barry stated in a press release.

Best Buy Q3 Earnings Report: Where Did the Retailer Miss?

Where exactly did the retailer miss in its third-quarter earnings report? On nearly all fronts.

As CNBC detailed, Best Buy cut its full-year revenue guidance from an earlier range of $41.3 billion to $41.9 billion down to an anticipated range of $41.1 billion to $41.5 billion.

Comparable sales aren’t projected to do much better. The tech-focused retailer expects comparable sales to tick downward by 2.5% to 3.5% percent, compared to earlier estimates of a sales downturn ranging between 1.5% and 3%.

Neither adjusted earnings per share (EPS) numbers nor total revenue projections measured up to Wall Street expectations, either. EPS projections rested at $1.26 versus Wall Street’s expectation of $1.29, and Best Buy’s revenue estimates came in at $9.45 billion versus $9.63 billion expected.

As of 12:15 p.m. ET on Nov. 26, Best Buy stock had tumbled 7.54%, likely as a result of the earnings report.

In its earnings report, however, Best Buy did point to one mitigating factor against all the negativity: the fact that this fiscal year was comprised of just 52 weeks, whereas the previous fiscal year boasted 53.

Best Buy Hopeful for the Holidays, Concerned Over Potential Trump Tariffs

During the earnings call, Barry indicated that while the company has faced a great many challenges in recent days, there is plenty of opportunity ahead.

As CNBC outlined, Barry was hopeful about the introduction of AI-powered tech hitting the consumer electronics realm in the short term — particularly smartphones equipped with more robust AI tools.

“We’re just at the early stage — and I would say this broadly about AI in general,” she said, per CNBC.

On the same call, she was wary of the impact potential tariffs (as proposed by former president, now president-elect, Donald Trump) could have on the company’s bottom line. Barry indicated that the cost of the proposed tariffs would be shouldered by the company, vendors, and customers alike.

“These are goods that people need, and higher prices are not helpful,” she said.

In the accompanying press release, however, Barry showed a great deal of enthusiasm and optimism over Best Buy’s future as a whole.

“We are excited and feel well-positioned for the holiday season with compelling deals, inspirational in-store and digital merchandising and competitive fulfillment options,” Barry stated in the press release. “We continue to see a consumer who is seeking value and sales events, and one who is also willing to spend on high price-point products when they need to or when there is new, compelling technology. Thus, we are balancing our optimism in both the industry and our unique positioning with a pragmatic approach to likely uneven customer behavior going forward.”