FILE PHOTO: People wait for purchases outside of a Best Buy store due to the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. April 10, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo GLOBAL BUSINESS WEEK AHEAD
(Reuters) – Best Buy Co Inc’s (BBY.N) quarterly revenue and profit topped analysts’ estimates on Thursday due to a surge in online sales of electronics needed for consumers to work from home.
The electronics retailer was forced to shutter stores across the country for weeks to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, but outlets continued to provide curbside delivery for online sales that surged over 155{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} on a comparable basis in the United States.
The lockdowns fuelled demand for monitors, printers and other work-from-home equipment, as well as gaming-related products.
Best Buy’s overall revenue fell 6.3{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f} to $8.56 billion in the first quarter ended May 2, but beat analysts’ expectations of $8.16 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Quarterly same-store sales fell 5.3{3c4481f38fc19dde56b7b1f4329b509c88239ba5565146922180ec5012de023f}.
The company’s net earnings fell to $159 million, or 61 cents per share, from $265 million, or 98 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, the company earned 67 cents per share in the first quarter, more than analysts’ average estimate of 44 cents per share.
The company maintained its quarterly cash dividend of 55 cents per share.
Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi
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