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Will Best Buy (BBY) Stock Gain Post Q4 Earnings Release?

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Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY - Free Report) is slated to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 results on Mar 1. In the previous quarter, the company surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 31.9%. Notably, the company has surpassed earnings estimates in all the trailing four quarters, with an average beat of 25.7%. Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to this announcement.

What to Expect?

The question lingering in investors’ minds now is, whether Best Buy will be able to post positive earnings surprise in the quarter to be reported. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter under review is $1.66, reflecting a year-over-year increase of over 8%. We noted that the Zacks Consensus Estimate has been stable in the last 60 days. Analysts polled by Zacks expect revenues of $13,595 million, edging down 0.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Best Buy forms part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. As per the latest Earnings Preview, total earnings for the sector are expected to decline marginally by 1.2%, however, revenue is projected to improve 4.7%. We noted that the Retail-Wholesale sector has lagged the broader market in the past six months. In the said time frame, this Zacks categorized sector gained 2.6%, while S&P 500 index advanced 7.5%.

Factors at Play

Best Buy has exhibited a bullish run in the past six months, increasing roughly 12% compared with the Zacks categorized Retail-Consumer Electronic industry that gained nearly 8%.

Best Buy has been posting better-than-expected results in the last 16 quarters and the trend is expected to continue in fourth-quarter fiscal 2017 as well. In the past few quarters, the company had reported massive gain in online comparable sales on the back of improved traffic, conversion rates and higher average order values, which is expected to boost the company’s results in the quarter to be reported. In the previous quarter, comparable-online sales increased 24.1% to $881 million.

The company has been making extensive investments to upgrade operations with special focus on developing omni-channel capabilities and strengthening partnership with vendors. Moreover, management is very optimistic about fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and projected earnings in the range of $1.62–$1.67 per share compared with $1.53 in the prior-year quarter.

However, the challenging retail landscape, aggressive promotional strategies and waning store traffic may hurt the stock. Moreover, comparable sale for the final quarter does not look encouraging. Enterprise comparable sales are anticipated to be in the range of down 1% to up 1%. Further, the company expects international comparable sales in the range of down 2% to up 2%, while domestic comparable sales in the band of down 1% to up 1%.



What the Zacks Model Unveils?

Our proven model shows that Best Buy is likely to beat earnings estimates this quarter. A stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. The Most Accurate estimate stands at $1.69, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $1.66. So the ensuing difference – the Earnings ESP – is of +1.81%. A positive ESP combined with the company’s Zacks Rank #3, makes us reasonably confident of an earnings beat. You may uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Best Buy Co., Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Best Buy Co., Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Best Buy Co., Inc. Quote

Stocks Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates

Here are some companies you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat:

Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.18% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Panera Bread Company has an Earnings ESP of +0.56% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.74% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017

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