Best Buy Q2 Earnings Report: Will Tariffs, Consumer Buying Behavior Affect Its Future Growth?

Best Buy (BBY) released its Q2 earnings report for fiscal year 2020 on Thursday, showing a comparable sales increase of 1.6 percent, down from the 6.2 percent it reported for the same time last year. The company has also adjusted its guidance for the third quarter and year-end fiscal 2020, citing tariffs and uncertainty in “consumer buying behavior.”

“For the second quarter, we are reporting comparable sales growth of 1.6% on top of a very strong 6.2% last year,” Corie Barry, Best Buy CEO said. “We also delivered improved profitability driven by gross profit rate expansion and continued disciplined expense management, demonstrating the culture we have built around driving cost reductions and efficiencies to help fund investments.”

In Q2, Best Buy saw its domestic revenue increase 2.1 percent over last year to $8.82 billion, which it said was driven by a 1.9 percent comparable sales growth and additional revenue from GreatCall, Inc., which it acquired in Q3 of fiscal year 2019. The company also contributed the reduced revenue to the loss of 13 stores, which it closed within the year.

While the majority of sales domestically for Best Buy came from appliances, tablets, headphones, and services; it saw a decrease in its gaming and home theater categories. Online revenue for the company reached $1.42 billion, which was up 17.3 percent.

Internationally, Best Buy didn’t fair was well, reporting a 3.4 percent decrease in revenue to $715 million, which it said was driven by a comparable sales decline of 1.9 percent due to negative foreign currency exchange rates and Canada. Gross profit rate was 23.8 percent versus 23.1 last year.

For Q3 fiscal 2020, Best Buy has adjusted its financial outlook to see a revenue of $9.65 to $9.75 billion and a comparable sales growth of 0.5 to 1.5 percent. Non-GAAP diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of $1.00 to $1.05, Best Buy said.

For its full year fiscal 2020 guidance, Best Buy has lowered its expected revenue from $42.9 to $43.9 billion to $43.1 to $43.6 billion. It projected its sales growth for fiscal 2020 to come in at 0.7 to 1.7 percent increase, down from its 0.5 to 2.5 percent expectations.

The company also expects is non-GAAP operating income to come in flat to slight up from the 4.6 percent it reported in fiscal 2019. Best Buy said its non-GAAP diluted EPS would range from $5.60 to $5.75, up from its prior guidance of $5.45 to $5.65.

“The updated FY20 guidance we are providing today narrows our prior top-line range and raises the bottom-line range,” Best Buy CFO Matt Bilunas said. “This updated guidance factors in the following: (1) our best estimate of the impact of recent announcements regarding tariffs on goods from China, including the increase to 30% for List 3 and 15% for List 4; (2) our better-than-expected first half earnings; and (3) general uncertainty related to overall customer buying behavior in the back half of the year.”

Shares of Best Buy stock were down 9.66 percent as of 10:36 a.m. ET on Thursday.