Best Buy Q2: $9.44B Revenue, $1.28 Adj. EPS and 1.6% Comp Gain - Tariffs Force Caution on $41.1B-$41.9B Guide

Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) posted a modest rebound in sales for the fiscal second quarter, delivering revenue and adjusted EPS that topped the street, but the company is keeping a cautious tone because of tariff uncertainty.

For the three months ended Aug. 2, revenue came in at $9.44 billion (analyst consensus: $9.24 billion) and adjusted earnings per share hit $1.28 versus $1.21 expected. Net income on the GAAP line sank to $186 million, or $0.87 per share, down from $291 million, or $1.34 a year earlier - though restructuring and other one-offs skewed the comparison.

Management stuck to full-year targets it trimmed in May. Best Buy now expects fiscal 2026 revenue between $41.1 billion and $41.9 billion and adjusted EPS of $6.15-$6.30, versus its prior profit range. The midpoint of that revenue band would be roughly flat with the prior year.

Tariffs are the wildcard. CEO Corie Barry said the team is more confident about the back half of the year and sees sales drifting toward the top of its range, but potential tariff moves make it prudent to maintain the guidance it already lowered. CFO Matt Bilunas added that some consumers could delay purchases into Q4, waiting for holiday promotions - a dynamic that could dent Q3 activity.

There were bright spots. Comparable sales rose 1.6% overall - the best quarterly improvement in three years - and U.S. comps were up 1.1%. Mobile, gaming and computing did the heavy lifting; gaming, in particular, benefited from demand around the Nintendo Switch 2 launch. Online sales in the U.S. climbed 5.1% and now make up about one-third of Best Buy's U.S. sales.

At the same time, appliance and home-theater purchases lagged as housing turnover slowed and buyers held off on big home projects amid higher rates. Management also pointed to selective spending patterns: customers are deal-focused and will pay up for high-end tech or real innovation, but many are cautious on pricier replacements.

Best Buy is trying a few plays to widen the funnel. It launched a third-party marketplace to broaden assortment, has nudged prices on certain items to offset tariff-driven cost pressure, and is leaning on vendor partners - bringing in staff from Apple and Samsung to support key departments. Management expects partner staffing to increase later in the year.

Short-term: a modest sales recovery backed by pockets of strength. But tariffs - and how customers react to them - are complicating the turnaround.