Best Buy, the American multinational consumer electronics retailer, announced its latest quarterly financial report on Thursday, August 28th, which exceeded Wall Street expectations in terms of revenue and profit. However, due to concerns about tariff uncertainty, the company has maintained its full-year performance forecast.
CEO Corie Barry expressed growing confidence in the company’s operational plans for the second half of the year during the earnings conference call. She emphasized that sales trends are moving towards the higher end of the annual forecast range. Despite potential impacts of tariffs on consumers and the company’s business in the second half of the year, maintaining the annual performance forecast provided in the previous quarter is considered a prudent decision.
Best Buy estimates its full-year revenue for the fiscal year 2026 to be between $41.1 billion and $41.9 billion, with adjusted earnings per share ranging from $6.15 to $6.30. In May of this year, the company revised its full-year profit expectations from a range of $6.20 to $6.60.
If calculated at the median, Best Buy’s revenue is expected to remain roughly flat compared to the previous fiscal year’s $41.53 billion. The company forecasts that full-year comparable sales will range between a 1% decline and a 1% growth.
Chief Financial Officer Matt Bilunas noted that some consumers may postpone their shopping in the third quarter, especially in October while waiting for year-end promotions, potentially resulting in a slowdown in the company’s performance.
The second quarter of the fiscal year 2026 ended on August 2nd, with the company reporting adjusted earnings per share of $1.28, surpassing market expectations of $1.21. Revenue stood at $9.44 billion, higher than the expected $9.24 billion. Net profit was $186 million, a decrease from $291 million in the same period last year.
Barry highlighted active back-to-school season sales, indicating that “our model performs better when there is innovation in the market.” Comparable sales for the second quarter increased by 1.6%, the highest growth rate in three years, with a 1.1% growth in the U.S. market mainly driven by mobile phones, gaming, and computer sales, while demand for appliances, home theaters, flat-screen TVs, and drones remained weak.
Barry revealed that laptop sales in the second quarter reached a new high for the same period in 15 years, with computer sales growing for the sixth consecutive quarter. The gaming business also saw an uplift in sales driven by the launch of Nintendo’s Switch 2 in June, surpassing expectations.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Barry outlined plans to enhance sales of appliances and home theater categories through price adjustments, optimizing product mix, and increasing staff. The company is strengthening collaborations with brand manufacturers, such as introducing Apple and Samsung employee support in stores to assist with sales.
Barry mentioned an increase in staffing dedicated to sales for major brands in the second half of the year. In addition to deploying more brand sales experts in stores, Best Buy has introduced new experiences to attract and retain customers. The company is testing mini showrooms in collaboration with IKEA at 10 stores in Florida and Texas, showcasing kitchen and laundry appliances.
In the second quarter, Best Buy saw a 5.1% year-over-year increase in online sales in the U.S., accounting for approximately one-third of the company’s total U.S. revenue for the quarter.
Though the impact of tariffs has not significantly surfaced in the second quarter, Barry stated that the company has already raised prices on some products to address cost pressures and emphasized that price increases are considered a “last resort.”