Staples and Best Buy released their latest earnings reports before opening bell this morning. Best Buy posted adjusted earnings of 62 cents per share on $8.95 billion in revenue, compared to the consensus estimates of 47 cents per share and $8.85 billion. In last year’s third quarter, the electronics retailer reported $8.82 billion in sales and 41 cents per share in non-GAAP earnings.
Staples posted sales of $5.355 billion, compared to the Street’s estimate of $5.4 billion, and earnings of 34 cents per share, which was in line with analyst estimates. In last year’s third quarter, the office supply retailer reported $5.59 billion in sales and non-GAAP earnings of 35 cents per share.
Best Buy’s earnings surge
Best Buy’s net earnings rose to 60 cents per share from 37 cents per share last year. Domestic same store sales rose 1.8%, coming out ahead of the consensus of a 1% increase year over year. Domestic revenue rose to $8.3 billion from $8.1 billion last year, while International revenue rose to $753 million from $729 million last year.
For the fourth quarter, Best Buy expects adjusted earnings to be between $1.62 and $1.67 per share, putting the retail chain ahead of consensus at $1.58 per share. The company expects fourth quarter revenue to be between $13.4 billion and $13.6 billion, which is a little light of consensus at $13.7 billion.
The retailer returned $290 million to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks during the third quarter. It bought back 5.4 million shares for $201 million. Shares of Best Buy surged in premarket trading, climbing by as much as 7.54% to $43.50.
Staples’s sales continue to decline
Staples’ net income fell to 27 cents per share from last year’s 31 cents per share. Comparable store sales in the North American Stores and Online segment declined 4% year over year, resulting in a 4.5% decline in total revenue to $2.5 billion from $2.6 billion. North American Commercial sales declined 2.9% to $2.1 billion from $2.17 billion last year. The sale of the Print Solutions business had a negative impact of 4% on the segment’s sales. Staples’ International Operations recorded a 7.2% decline in sales, which fell to $749 million from $807 million.
For the fourth quarter, the retailer expects a year over year decline in sales and non-GAAP earnings of 23 cents to 26 cents per share.
Shares of Staples slipped by as much as 0.22% to $8.96 in premarket trades this morning.
