Best Buy
No Holiday Cheer for Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) as Online Retailers Steal the Joy
The highlight of the week before Christmas, from a stock market point of view, is always the third-quarter earnings report of electronics retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY). It's a tradition almost as old as St. Nick, and since the mid-2000s usually covered in just as much red.
Back during the 1990s, BBY was the alpha dog of retail stocks. In a period of fantastic strength in tech stocks, BBY was every bit their equal, rising more than 1,000% from 1997 to 2000 by promoting the digital good life.
Those were the days, huh?
But as you could see in its report and guidance last Tuesday, the technology-driven big box retailer from Minneapolis is now just a shadow of its former self, disappointing again with a 5% decline in same-store sales and offering weak guidance. The saddest part was that the market didn't even care. Investors of other retailing stocks basically just averted their gaze.
Why the Bulls Can Stand Strong at Home and Overseas
Stocks enjoyed another plus week, closing one of the better Marches of the past 80 years. It seems like ages since volatility has been this low, and there have been many complaints about complacency and listlessness. Yet those concerns may be misplaced if indeed we are enjoying the second leg of a normal bull cycle. Low volatility in a bearish phase does suggest complacency, to be sure, but in a bullish phase it serves more to keep expectations in check.
Investment News Briefs
With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world.
House Rethinks Glass-Steagall; Boeing's Dreamliner Finally Lifts Off; Manufacturing, Wholesale Prices Both Rise; Best Buy Beats Street; GE Sees Flat Revenue; Wells Fargo to Pay Back TARP
- The Glass-Steagall Act, which barred banks that took deposits from underwriting securities, is under consideration for reinstatement by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD. A renewal of the 1933 law “is certainly under discussion” by House members, Hoyer told Bloomberg News in Washington. The Glass-Steagall law was repealed in 1999 to help pave the way for the formation of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) with the $46 billion merger of Citicorp and Travelers Group Inc. Enactment of the law has generated debate about whether it helped spawn reckless lending practices and financial speculation that led to the meltdown of credit markets last year and the $700 billion U.S. bailout of troubled banks, including Citigroup. “As someone who voted to repeal Glass-Steagall, maybe that was a mistake,” Hoyer said.
Retailers May Have a Cheerier Holiday Season to Look Forward To
The worst holiday season since at least 1970 left many retailers – including the now bankrupt Circuit City Stores Inc. (OTC: CCTYQ) – very little to be thankful for last year. But things might be a little bit cheerier this year, once consumers overcome the specter of last year's stock market crash and retailers slink [...]
Investment News Briefs
With our investment news briefs, Money Morning provides investors with a quick overview of the most important investing news stories from all around the world. Government Planning to Sell Citi Stake; Judge Rebukes BofA/SEC Settlement; China FDI Climbs; China's BYD Soars 648% in Year; Best Buy Misses Outlook By a Penny; Sun Hung Kai Income [...]
Best Buy Plugs into Europe with $2.1 Billion Carphone Warehouse Partnership
By Mike Caggeso Associate Editor Best Buy Co. (BBY) is planting its flag in European soil with a $2.1 billion 50-50 joint venture with London-based Carphone Warehouse Group PLC, giving the largest U.S. electronics retailer a much-needed inroad to Europe's highly competitive electronics retail market. Story continues below… Best Buy has a near monopoly in [...]
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