Best Buy Sales Suffer Without iPhone Launch

[Waqas 48]

Best Buy, a bellwether for consumer electronics sales, posted weak second-quarter results as sales of TVs slowed and the lack of a high-profile smartphone launch weighed on revenues.

The retailer’s fiscal second-quarter income fell 30% to $177 million compared to the same period last year. The company’s revenues of $11.3 billion for the quarter were less than the $11.5 billion analysts projected and were flat with last year’s second quarter results.

The news sent Best Buy’s stock down about 8% to its lowest level since 2008 in Tuesday’s morning trading. “We’re still facing an uncertain macro-environment with volatile consumer shopping behavior, and this was evident in our results for the second quarter,” president and CEO Brian Dunn told analysts during a conference call Tuesday.

The company also blamed the lack of highly anticipated smartphone launches. Apple has released a new iPhone model every summer since 2007, but this year, the iPhone 5 launch is expected to launch in October.

Image courtesy of Flickr, osed8info

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