““We continue to expect that this year will be the low point in tech demand after two years of sales declines.””
Best Buy Co. Inc. Chief Executive Corie Barry is making the call for a bottom in tech demand on the consumer-electronics retailer’s post-earnings conference call with analysts, according to an AlphaSense transcript.
But even as Corie continued to back the call she made in May, after fiscal first-quarter results; and in March, after fourth-quarter results, Best Buy still trimmed its full-year outlook for revenue.
The company
BBY,
said it now expects fiscal 2024 revenue of $43.8 billion to $44.5 billion, down from previous guidance of $43.8 billion to $45.2 billion.
The midpoint of the new guidance range — $44.15 billion — implies a 4.6% drop from a year ago and is below the current FactSet consensus of $44.25 billion.
That’s because the consumer continues to make “careful choices and trade-offs” given a number of macroeconomic headwinds, which will soon include the resumption of student loan payments in October.
“Our industry continues to experience lower consumer demand due to the pandemic pull forward of tech purchases and the shift back into services spend outside the home, like travel and entertainment,” Barry said. “In addition, of course, persistent inflation has impacted spending decisions for a substantial part of the population.”
Meanwhile, the FactSet consensus for fiscal 2025 revenue of $44.39 billion implies 0.5% growth from the guidance midpoint.
Best Buy’s stock jumped 5.8% in morning trading, enough to pace the S&P 500 index’s
SPX
gainers, after the company beat fiscal second-quarter profit, revenue and same-store sales expectations, and nudged up its full-year profit outlook.
The stock was headed for the biggest one-day gain since it ran up 12.8% on Nov. 22, 2022.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
