Aug 27, 2026 earnings call — Q2 results and guidance raise
Best Buy raised full-year revenue guidance to $42.3 billion to $42.8 billion after Q2 revenue of $9.8 billion and 4.1% comparable sales growth.
Revenue $9.8B (est $9.6B) · EPS $1.47 (est $1.39) · Next-quarter revenue outlook $42.3B–$42.8B
Key quotes
"Regarding Best Buy Ads, we are on track to deliver 10% growth this year on top of $900 million in collections last year."
"Sales for this group of categories in Q2 more than doubled versus last year."
"Our adjusted operating income rate of 4.3% was also better than planned, driven by a higher gross profit rate that included a $34 million benefit from tariff refunds."
Analyst Q&A 8
new product categories growth
Q (Scot Ciccarelli · Truist): How big are the newer product categories now in total? Will store concepts expand those categories in coming quarters?
A: Management said the emerging categories (cards, collectibles, AI glasses, health rings) together are worth about 1 point of comp. They plan to keep looking for vendor innovation and may expand in-store spaces for strong trends like Meta.
"In total, the aggregation of those categories is worth about 1 point of comp, which is pretty impactful." — Jason Bonfig (CEO)
monthly comps and margins
Q (Simeon Gutman · Morgan Stanley): How do you interpret May–July comps and is there a tax-refund or product-cycle effect? Also, thoughts on incremental margins and SG&A going forward?
A: Management said the May 8% comp slowed in June and July due to lapping Switch 2 and Prime Day timing, and demand rebounded into August. They said SG&A pressure was largely from Ads/Marketplace and higher short-term incentive compensation tied to stronger results, which raised incentives about $100 million versus earlier expectations.
"And it's that revenue and OI dollar combination that's about half and half the OI -- or excuse me, the SG&A impact." — Corie Barry (CEO)
second-half drivers and inventory
Q (Jonathan Matuszewski · Jefferies): What headwinds/tailwinds are embedded in the second-half guide (Windows 10, GTA VI)? And what are plans for inventory and any SKU pull-forward?
A: They said GTA VI will affect software, hardware and accessories and is factored into guidance; Windows 10 end-of-life created a tough comp for computing so computing is forecast to soften in the back half. Inventory strategy is opportunistic: they manage to forward days of supply and sometimes buy computing earlier when they see price increases, but they won't broadly front-load unless advantageous.
"For computing, the Windows 10 end of life in Q3 did create a quarter that was obviously more substantial from a growth perspective for computing, and we are comping up against that." — Jason Bonfig (CEO)
sustaining momentum next year
Q (Michael Lasser · UBS): How can you keep growth if next year conditions are less favorable? Also, how do investments from Marketplace/Ads affect competitiveness and gross margins?
A: Management said industry growth comes from ongoing innovation plus replacement cycles, and Best Buy benefits when both occur. They pointed to Meta and new TV tech as examples, and said Ads/Marketplace give extra fuel to compete; guide shows gross profit rate expanding about 30 to 40 basis points after tariff effects, while investments include experience and service as well as price actions.
"I would argue we haven't seen as much of that as we came out of the pandemic because, one, you had the pull forward of all those replacement cycles; and two, you just didn't have as much innovation." — Corie Barry (CEO)
memory price effects and fuel costs
Q (Joseph Feldman · Telsey Advisory Group): How is rising memory pricing affecting ASPs and units, and is that seen in other categories? Also, what about transportation and fuel cost pressure?
A: They said memory-driven ASP increases in computing were mid-teens while units fell high single digits, and that impact is largely limited to computing (memory and graphics cards). On transportation, they expect some higher fuel costs in guidance but overall supply chain was a slight benefit and full-year impact should be relatively neutral.
"As far as other categories go, it has not really dramatically impacted other categories." — Jason Bonfig (CEO)
ASP path, promotions, Ads/Marketplace impact
Q (Steven Zaccone · Citi): Should we expect computing ASPs higher and units lower in the second half? How has back-to-school and promotional intensity been? Any change in Ads/Marketplace contribution to OI?
A: They said computing saw mid-teens ASP increases in Q2 with units down high single digits and that dynamic looks consistent into the back half. Promotional activity is in line with expectations and back-to-school is tracking well; Ads and Marketplace remain a modest tailwind to operating income and may be slightly better than earlier assumed.
"And as it relates to your question around Ads and Marketplace being a modest, I'm going to call it, tailwind to OI, I think that's slightly improved, which you can imagine, we raised the Marketplace GMV estimate for the year." — Corie Barry (CEO)
business segment growth drivers
Q (Steven Forbes · Guggenheim): What is driving 21% growth in Best Buy Business and how will it affect full-year and long-term growth?
A: They said Best Buy Business is about $1.1 billion annually and grew 15%–20% year-to-date, driven by six verticals (education, hospitality, promotions, builder/multi-dwelling, health care, corporate) with strength in computing, home theater and majors. Geek Squad and digital partner tools give them an advantage, and the team will refine where to lean in for future growth.
"Our -- we've talked about before, our Best Buy Business segment, it generates more than $1.1 billion annually." — Corie Barry (CEO)
quarter shape, computing drivers, pull-forward
Q (Christopher Horvers · JPMorgan): Will August push the quarter higher near the top of the 1%–3% guide? Is computing demand replacement-led or AI-driven, and was there demand pull-forward from recent price moves?
A: They said back-to-school is shaping well and their quarter shape differs because they lap harder compares from last year's Windows 10 sunsetting. For computing, some demand was replacement but there's a growing tilt to innovation (AI-enabled features); they saw only a brief, small pull-forward after one announcement and no large-scale pull-forward.
"Chris, on your pull-forward question, we actually did not see at scale evidence of customers pulling forward." — Corie Barry (CEO)