Aug 27 (Reuters) – Best Buy raised its full-year sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting on an AI-fueled device upgrade and growth in newer businesses such as advertising and its marketplace to offset weakness in discretionary spending.
The top U.S. electronics retailer expects annual revenue of $42.3 billion to $42.8 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $41.2 billion to $42.1 billion.
The company has benefited from an artificial intelligence-driven hardware upgrade cycle as shoppers replace older computers and smartphones with ones equipped with the latest technology.
Best Buy also raised its forecast for annual earnings per share to $6.70 to $6.90 on an adjusted basis, compared with the $6.30 to $6.60 estimated earlier.
The company’s shares, which have gained about 30% so far this year, were down about 3% in choppy premarket trading.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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