As Brent reported on just a little while ago, Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) released its Q4 and full-year fiscal results this morning before the bell, showing a 10% sales increase for the quarter. That's right -- a 10% jump in the December-February period as most of retail sales plummeted. This, of course, was better than the market expected, and its shares having been climbing ever since.Ever since former competitor Circuit City closed its doors earlier this month after announcing a liquidation in January, Best Buy had been under the microscope to see just how many sales it could latch onto from its biggest (former) competitor. The market got the answer this morning.
Brad Anderson, the current CEO who will be replaced by Brian Dunn this June, said "We prepared for reduced consumer spending, and we were pleased when the quarter finished stronger than it began." In many ways, it was just a question of how much Best Buy would pick up from Circuit City's demise, not if. The lingering question this year in electronics retailing will be this: what other retailers will try to capitalize on Circuit City's demise. Will Best Buy be the only one to really take that abandoned market share?
The largest consumer electronics chain in the U.S. saw earnings of $570 million for the quarter, down from the year-ago period of $737. The drop was based on restructuring costs and charges. Minus those charges, the company saw a $682 million quarter. For the fiscal quarter, the retailer saw revenue jump to $14.72 billion from the year-ago quarter figure of $13.42 billion. For the current fiscal year, the company also predicted full-year profit of $2.50 to $2.90 per share on a revenue run rate of $46.5 billion to $48.5 billion. Anything could happen this year, though.
Chasing Value: 2009 blazing picks -- Q3 review 
Happy holidays! Google giving away free Wi-Fi 
Dr. Doom Nouriel Roubini believes the bubble is about to burst
