Market Currents

• Friday, November 27, 2009

• 09:10 AM Doorbuster reports: Best Buy's (BBY) CEO says Black Friday traffic is up. Anecdotal evidence shows some full parking lots and more cash payments so far. Shoppers were lined up well before midnight Thursday at Best Buy, Target (TGT) and Toys R Us stores, while Wal-Mart (WMT) broke the mold by remaining open for 24 hours during the holiday. (photos) 1 Comment

• Wednesday, September 23, 2009

• 13:31 PM Dutch firm iRex enlists Verizon Wireless (VZ), Qualcomm (QCOM), Best Buy (BBY) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) for help in its new e-reader to be sold later this fall. The new reader crowds into a market featuring devices from Amazon.com (AMZN), Sony (SNE) and soon from Plastic Logic. Comment!

• Tuesday, September 15, 2009

• 08:10 AM Best Buy (BBY): Q2 EPS of $0.37 misses by $0.05. Revenue of $11.02B (+12.5%) vs. $10.79B. Comps fell by 3.1%. Full-year guidance in line with consensus. Shares -3.2% premarket. (PR) Comment!

• Friday, July 24, 2009

• 17:02 PM Ready to buy computers like you do mobile phones? Best Buy (BBY) is testing selling fuller-featured laptops discounted with purchase of a two-year Internet service contract. The store already discounts netbooks with contract. Comment!

• Thursday, July 9, 2009

• 07:50 AM Best Buy (BBY) teams up with TiVo (TIVO) on a multi-year advertising partnership. Best Buy will heavily promote TiVo in its stores, while TiVo will develop a version of its DVR that lets Best Buy advertise its products to TiVo customers at home. Comment!

• Monday, July 6, 2009

• 08:33 AM Best Buy (BBY) tries to build itself a new niche in selling green vehicles, offering electric-powered scooters, bicycles and Segways at 19 test locations. 2 Comments

• Wednesday, June 24, 2009

• 08:50 AM Best Buy (BBY) begins testing a kiosk-model to sell used videogames in the U.S., following earlier tests in some Canadian stores. If rolled out on a larger scale, the move will threaten GameStop's (GME) virtual monopoly on the U.S. used videogame market. Comment!

• Tuesday, June 16, 2009

• 08:12 AM Best Buy (BBY): FQ1 EPS of $0.42 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $10.1B (+12.3%) in-line. Shares -3.6% premarket. (PR) Comment!
• 00:05 AM Notable earnings before Tuesday's open: BBY, SFD Comment!

• Monday, June 15, 2009

• 09:15 AM Futures point to a weak open Monday after overseas markets retreated, due partly to a pullback in commodities prices. Key earnings this week include GS, MS, BBY and RIMM. Dow futures -1.2% at 8635. S&P -1.2% to 929.50. Nasdaq -1%. Comment!

• Tuesday, May 19, 2009

• 16:38 PM Apple (AAPL) might eventually sell some Macs in Wal-Mart (WMT), a move that makes sense to Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes. It would "clearly benefit Apple due to increased distribution," while "Wal-Mart’s brand would likely see a boost in its attempt to compete with Best Buy (BBY)." 2 Comments
• 09:06 AM It's official: Palm (PALM) Pre will launch June 6 and cost $200 at Sprint Stores, Best Buy (BBY), RadioShack (RSH) and some Wal-Marts (WMT). For Palm, the Pre is the company's future, while Sprint hopes the Pre will become its iPhone. 1 Comment

• Monday, May 18, 2009

• 11:23 AM Battling with Best Buy (BBY) and Amazon (AMZN) over customers from bankrupt Circuit City, Wal-Mart (WMT) revamps its electronics department in over 3,500 stores. Wal-Mart will also carry Palm's (PALM) Pre, which some thought would be a Best Buy exclusive. 1 Comment

• Monday, April 27, 2009

• 15:45 PM Best Buy (BBY) takes on rivals Wal-Mart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) with a rapid expansion of its private-label electronics business. Sales of Best Buy's private-label electronics jumped 40% during the past fiscal year, even as overall sales and profits sank. Comment!
• 10:32 AM DVD merchants say business is booming as more consumers opt for a more reasonable film by the fireplace. Could be bullish for Best Buy (BBY). More so for Netflix (NFLX) and Blockbuster (BBI). Comment!

• Thursday, April 2, 2009

• 09:44 AM 55% of shoppers say they prefer to shop for electronics at Best Buy (BBY) and Wal-Mart (WMT) - 35% and 20% respectively. Target (TGT) and Sears (SHLD) rank a distant third and fourth. 1 Comment