Best Buy posts Q3 revenue of $9.93 billion as other retailers falter

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), the largest consumer electronics retailer in the U.S., reported Q3 sales of $9.93 billion this past Tuesday. The retailer indicated in its press release that the top product categories in the quarter were flat-panel televisions, notebook computers and gaming consoles such as the Nintendo Wii.

Analyst estimates were in the consensus range of $0.41 EPS on sales of $9.44 billion, which Best Buy smashed with hardly a sneeze. EPS were $0.53 in the Q3 period, a 71% jump from the year-ago quarter. Additionally, its $9.93 billion in revenue was a lift of 17% from last year's Q3 period. What did Best Buy do to smash estimates in what some think is weak consumer economy?

Good question. Americans continue to have an insatiable appetite for electronics and gadgets, and they're buying almost all of them at Best Buy, apparently. CompUSA is shutting its doors for good, and competitor Circuit City (NYSE: CC) has had one disastrous quarter after another this year (and reports Q3 numbers tomorrow). The only cloud over Best Buy's Q3 results were in the retailer's Q4 guidance, in which the retailer expects EPS of $1.70 to $1.80 -- a small dip from analyst expectations of $1.82. Still, analyst expectations are built from hype and sometimes flawed analysis anyway, so does this matter much?