Best Buy's Stock Soars After Profit, Sales Rise Well Above Expectations

Best Buy Co. Inc.'s stock soared 12% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the electronics and appliance retailer reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that rose well above expectations. For the quarter ended Aug. 1, net earnings came in at $164 million, or 46 cents a share, compared with $146 million, or 39 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as one-time restructuring charges, adjusted earnings per share were 49 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 34 cents. Revenue grew to $8.53 billion from $8.46 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $8.29 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.8%, above the FactSet consensus of 0.9% growth, with domestic sales growth of 2.7% beating expectations of a 1.3% rise. "We believe these better-than-expected second quarter results are affirmation that our strategy of offering advice, service and convenience at competitive prices is paying off," said Chief Executive Hubert Joly. The stock has tumbled 25% year to date to close at a one-year low on Monday, while the S&P 500 has lost 8.1%.