Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) on Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales that fell short of expectations, as it was hamstrung by supply chain challenges and omicron-related staffing shortages.
But the company’s shares rose, as executives painted a rosier picture of the years ahead and investors bet that sales gains made during the COVID pandemic will outlast near-term hiccups.
The stock climbed as much as 9% in premarket trading, despite a weaker-than-expected short-term outlook. Best Buy is lapping challenging year-over-year comparisons when the pandemic and stimulus checks fueled sales.
CEO Corie Barry said in an earnings presentation that the retailer had low inventory on some popular holiday items and reduced store hours in the fourth quarter. Yet she said the company hit its fastest ever holiday delivery times and zeroed in on key growth areas like its membership program, Totaltech, and health business.
She said Best Buy leaders are “deliberately investing in our future and furthering our competitive differentiation,” even if that weighs on short-term profits.
And, Barry added, the pandemic has turned telemedicine, online fitness and videoconferencing into permanent parts of consumers’ lives — laying the groundwork for a bright future.
Best Buy’s net income dropped to $626 million, or $2.62 per share, from $816 million, or $3.10 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, it earned $2.73 per share, matching the $2.73 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Net sales decreased to $16.37 billion from $16.94 billion a year earlier, missing estimates of $16.6 billion.
BBY shares heightened $9.85, or 9.8%, to $110.69.
