Smartphones and mobile phones may be on a tear, but Best Buy Co. Inc. sold less of them last quarter. The company reported a 30% decline in profits overall from the year-ago period and a 5% decline in mobile phone sales at comparable stores.
The company noted the decline was “due to industry softness driven by the lack of significant new phone launches during the quarter relative to the prior-year period. The company believes that it continued to grow share in mobile phones in the second quarter.”
Regardless, Best Buy believes that it continued to grow share in mobile phones during the quarter. Profits fell to $177 million from $254 million a year ago.
“While results in the second quarter and our outlook reflect continued macro challenges to overall consumer spending and lower consumer electronics industry sales, we have made good progress on our key strategic focus areas in this environment. Looking forward to the important holiday season, I believe Best Buy is well positioned to bring the benefits of our multi-channel model to our customers and shareholders, CEO Brian Dunn said in a prepared statement.
The company reported a net addition of 113 Best Buy Mobile standalone stores. Computing and mobile phone sales comprised 42% of the company’s revenue in the domestic market and 55% of international revenue.