Best Buy Co. Inc. shares jumped more than 6% in Thursday premarket trading after the electronics retailer reported fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations.
The company posted net income of $626 million, or $2.62 per share, down from $816 million, or $3.10 per share, last year. Adjusted EPS of $2.73 beat the FactSet consensus of $2.72. Revenue of $16.365 billion was down from $16.937 billion and below the FactSet consensus for $16.598 billion. Comparable sales fell 2.3%, wider than the FactSet consensus for a 0.9% decline.
"Q4 sales of $16.4 billion were impacted by more constrained inventory than expected, including some high-demand holiday items, and the temporary reduction in store hours in January due to Omicron-induced staffing challenges," said Chief Executive Corie Barry in a statement.
"The biggest areas of investment were our new membership program, technology and Best Buy Health, all core to our future growth potential."
Best Buy has raised its quarterly dividend 26% to 88 cents per share payable on April 14 to shareholders of record as of March 24.
For fiscal year 2023, Best Buy is guiding for revenue of $49.3 billion to $50.8 billion, a comparable sales decline of 1% to 4% and adjusted EPS of $8.85 to $9.15. The FactSet consensus is for revenue of $50.879 billion, a comparable sales decline of 1.4% and EPS of $9.29.
Looking ahead to fiscal 2025, Best Buy's outlook is for revenue of $53.5 billion to $56.5 billion.
Best Buy stock has edged up 0.5% over the past year while the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 15%.