(Reuters) -Top U.S. electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc on Thursday joined peers with a cautious forecast for annual earnings as uncertainty over the U.S. economic outlook tempers expectations for a recovery in discretionary products demand.
The company’s shares fell 1.9% to $80.99 in premarket trading.
Higher U.S. consumer prices have raised fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve could further lift borrowing costs to cool demand, prompting Walmart, Target Corp and other retailers to issue conservative forecasts.
Best Buy said it expects fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $5.70 to $6.50, compared with analysts’ estimates of $6.71, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Comparable sales decreased 9.3% in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28, compared with analysts’ estimates of a 9.2% fall.
(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Sriraj Kalluvila)