Best Buy same-store sales surge during the key holiday quarter; shares leap

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Shoppers at a Best Buy store in Brooklyn, New York.

Best Buy, the No. 1 U.S. consumer electronics retailer, reported a higher-than-expected rise in same-store sales in the fourth quarter, helped by strong customer demand, an improving competitive environment and strong sales in the gaming category.

Shares of the retailer rose nearly 5 percent in premarket trading.

The retailer said same-store sales rose 9 percent in the fourth quarter ended Feb. 3. Analysts on average had expected a 2.9 percent rise, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The Richfield, Minnesota-based company’s net income fell to $364 million, or $1.23 per share, in the quarter, from $607 million, or $1.91 per share, a year earlier, impacted by items from the new U.S. tax reform. Excluding these charges, earnings were $2.42 per share.

The company’s revenue rose to $15.36 billion, beating estimates of $14.5 billion.

—CNBC contributed to this report.