Best Buy CEO warns price increases are ‘highly likely’ after Trump tariffs

Best Buy on Tuesday posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that topped expectations, but CEO Corie Barry projected that prices for U.S. consumers would rise as President Donald Trump’s tariffs on China and Mexico go into effect.

On Best Buy’s earnings call, Barry said China and Mexico are the company’s top two supply-chain sources.

“Trade is critically important to our business and industry, the consumer electronic supply chain is highly global, technical and complex,” Barry said. “We expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely.”

Here’s how the consumer electronics company did compared with what Wall Street was expecting for the company’s fiscal 2025 fourth quarter ended Feb. 1, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $2.58 adjusted vs. $2.40 expected
• Revenue: $13.95 billion vs. $13.70 billion expected

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 4.8% from $14.65 billion during the same period a year ago.

Best Buy reported fourth-quarter net income of $117 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with a net income of $460 million, or $2.12 per share, during the year-ago period. Adjusting for a noncash goodwill impairment charge related to Best Buy Health and other restructuring initiatives, Best Buy reported fourth-quarter earnings of $2.58 per share.

Comparable sales, defined by Best Buy as revenue from online sales and stores open at least 14 months, rose 0.5% year over year for the quarter, excluding the additional week in fiscal 2024. Best Buy had forecast a change ranging from flat to down 3%. In the U.S., quarterly comparable sales rose 0.2% year over year.

Full-year fiscal 2025 revenue came in at $41.53 billion, down 4.4% from $43.45 billion in fiscal 2024. Best Buy’s fiscal 2025 had one fewer week than the prior-year period, which the retailer estimates added $735 million in revenue to its fiscal 2024 total.

For fiscal 2026, the company issued full-year guidance of $41.4 billion to $42.2 billion in revenue and comparable sales growth of 0% to 2% year over year.

“We believe consumer behavior will be largely similar to last year – remaining resilient but still dealing with high inflation that is driving expenses up across their lives, making them value focused and thoughtful about big ticket purchases. And, at the same time, we continue to see a consumer that is willing to spend on high price point products when they need to or when there is technology innovation,” CFO Matt Bilunas said in a news release.

Best Buy said the guidance does not account for the impact of recent or proposed tariffs. CEO Corie Barry has said that 60% of its cost of goods comes from China and that Mexico is its second-largest importer.

President Donald Trump imposed an additional 10% tariff on China starting Tuesday, on top of the 10% tariff on the country that he ordered in January. In addition, 25% duties on goods from Mexico and Canada also begin Tuesday.