Best Buy Gains Market Share, Starts Selling Refurbished iPhones

Without changing his rating or estimates, Stifel Nicolaus analyst David Schick Tuesday morning sifts through some implications of the holiday selling season for Best Buy (BBY), which is to report earnings on Friday, before market open. Schick thinks that Best Buy will report comparable-store sales were down 6.5% in the December quarter, and notes that Our store checks suggest modest improvement in the final lead up to Christmas, boosted by share gains from Circuit City (CC), though partially offset by inclement weather,” with Circuit City indicating that its sales have fallen 43% to 50% since the company filed for bankruptcy in November. That said, Best Buy is contending with a double-whammy: falling prices on hi-def TVs, as they become more of a commodity, and “the largest drop in durable goods spending since 1942, writes Shick. He thinks the company will narrow the range it has given for the fiscal year ending February from a very wide $2.30 to $2.90 per share in earnings. Shick has a “Hold” rating on Best Buy Stock.

On another note, Best Buy said today it will start selling refurbished models of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, for $149 for an 8-gigabyte model and $249 for the 16-gig model. That follows AT&T’s announcement last week it would start selling the refurb units.

Best Buy shares Tuesday are up $1.20, or 4%, at $31.20.

Comments

[User 265729:]

Eric,

RIP to Best Buy... Selling flat screen TV's is not the model of our economic future.

When I visit their store it dives me the Big Brother creeps!

Jan 06 07:51 PM

[Xxantu:]

Best Buy is a misnomer. Try "Evil Empire".

Jan 07 01:09 PM

[Trinitymaster:]

Did anyone notice that Best Buy's Third Quarter makes frequent reference to "Third Quarter 2009"?

biz.yahoo.com/e/090108...

Does anyone else smell a Ponzi Chef at work?

Jan 09 12:08 AM

[Trinitymaster:]

Their SEC form 10Q quarterly report, that is

Jan 09 12:13 AM

[billddrummer:]

To Trinitymaster,

The reason they mention third quarter 2009 is because the fiscal year ends at the end of February 2009.

I'm not sure what you mean by Ponzi chef.

Jan 09 12:39 PM