Best Buy's fourth-quarter sales and profits both miss expectations

CEO Corie Barry said in the earnings report that the retailer had less inventory of some popular holiday items during the peak season and reduced store hours in the fourth quarter . However, the company set its fastest holiday delivery pace ever and focused on key growth areas such as membership programs, totaltech and health businesses.

Barry said Best Buy's leaders are " investing in the future growth of the business and further improving its competitive advantage ," even if that has an impact on the platform's short-term profits.

Barry also said the pandemic has made telemedicine, online fitness and video conferencing a permanent part of consumers' lives.

Here's how the company performed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, which ended Jan. 29, compared with Wall Street expectations, based on a Refinitiv survey of analysts .

Best Buy 's net income fell to $626 million, or $2.62 per share, from $816 million, or $3.10 per share, a year earlier .

Net sales fell to $16.37 billion from $16.94 billion a year earlier and missed estimates for $16.6 billion.

Same-store sales fell 2.3% in the quarter , missing both analysts’ and the company’s own expectations. Analysts expected same-store sales to fall 0.9%, while the company forecast same-store sales to fall between 2% and rise 1%.

Best Buy 's sales and stock price surged during the pandemic as it catered to Americans ' needs, such as providing additional computer monitors and printers for working from home, cooking utensils for more meals, and home theater systems and game consoles to pass the time, foreign media reported.

Now, some investors are betting that sales will slow or decline as people return to offices and opt for in-person gatherings. Best Buy has been grappling with headwinds in recent quarters, including chip shortages, soaring commodity costs and delays in shipments from elsewhere around the world.

Best Buy said it expects revenue of between $49.3 billion and $50.8 billion for the year ahead, below analysts’ expectations of $51.05 billion, according to Refinitiv data . The company forecast full-year adjusted earnings per share of between $8.85 and $9.15, below analysts’ expectations of $9.16, Refinitiv reported.

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