Best Buy Ends 4Q15 and Fiscal 2015 with Strong Earnings

Best Buy Sailed through Fiscal 2015 - Gears up for Fiscal 2016 (Part 2 of 5)

(Continued from Part 1)

Leading consumer electronics retailer

Best Buy (BBY) posted strong results for fiscal 2015—ending January 31, 2015. The company’s results were helped by its turnaround efforts. For full-year 2015, Best Buy’s diluted EPS (earnings per share) increased by 128% to $3.49—compared to $1.53 last year. Best Buy accounts for ~0.9% of the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT).

Best Buy’s 4Q15 EPS rose

Best Buy’s 4Q15 diluted EPS increased by 75.9% to $1.46—compared to the same quarter last year. The company’s adjusted EPS excludes the impact of one-time items. Its EPS was $1.48—ahead of analysts’ estimate of $1.35. Best Buy’s earnings beat analysts’ expectations in each of the four quarters in fiscal 2015. In 4Q15, the surge in earnings was driven by higher sales in the domestic US market, lower expenses, and a favorable comparison to 4Q14. It was impacted by restructuring charges of $113 million.

Other retailers saw declines

Specialty retailer Conn’s (CONN) reported a 37.4% decline in its fiscal 2015 EPS. Higher revenue was offset by an increase in SG&A (selling, general and administrative) expenses as well as bad debts. Online retailer Amazon (AMZN) derives about 68% of its net sales from electronics and other general merchandise. It reported a diluted loss per share of $0.52 in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014—compared to diluted EPS of $0.59 per share last year. Amazon is among the top five holdings of the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY). It accounts for ~6.2% of XLY’s portfolio holdings.

Continue to Part 3

Browse this series on Market Realist:

• Part 1 - Best Buy’s Fiscal 2016 Profits – Will Restructuring Be a Factor?

• Part 3 - Best Buy’s Fiscal 2015 Revenue – Boosted by TVs and Mobile Phones

• Part 4 - Best Buy Worked to Improve Its Margins in Fiscal 2015