Morningstar

Key Takeaways from Best Buy's Update

The retailer continues to improve its long-term competitive position thanks to innovative partnerships and improved customer experience, but shares remain overpriced.

Securities In This Article
Best Buy Co Inc
(BBY)

Our takeaways from

On the profitability front, Best Buy continues to strike a balance between investment and cost optimization. Gross margins fell 30 basis points to 23.8% due to supply chain investments and TTS rollout costs but also helped by merchandise margins. The gross margin hit was more than offset by a 50-basis-point reduction in SG&A, with cost control measures negating specialty labor investments for the aforementioned service offerings, resulting in a 20-basis-point increase in operating margins to 3.8%. While the market appears concerned about the softer-than-expected third-quarter adjusted EPS outlook ($0.79-$0.84, versus consensus of $0.92), we're comfortable with Best Buy's service investments ahead of the 2018 holidays.

We're planning to add a few dollars to our $55 fair value estimate for more optimistic near-term sales assumptions. While we recognize the scarcity value of Best Buy's recent outperformance relative to other retailers and see the stock as a solid income play, we see shares as overvalued.

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About the Author

R.J. Hottovy

Sector Strategist
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R.J. Hottovy, CFA, is a consumer strategist for Morningstar Research Services LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. He is responsible for consumer discretionary and staples research. He has covered the consumer sector as an analyst and director of global consumer equity research for Morningstar since joining the company in 2008, and specializes in a broad range of consumer categories including restaurants, footwear and apparel retailers, consumer electronics retailers, fitness clubs, home improvement and furnishing retailers, and consumer product manufacturers.

Before joining Morningstar, Hottovy was a director and senior stock analyst for Next Generation Equity and an analyst for William Blair & Co., specializing in a wide range of retail and consumer product companies. He also spent two years at Deutsche Bank, covering waste management, water utilities, and equipment rental stocks.

Hottovy holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a second degree in computer applications from the University of Notre Dame, where he graduated magna cum laude. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.

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