Best Buy Revises Profit Forecast

Best Buy Co. Inc. says weak consumer spending has forced it to cut its profit and revenue forecasts for fiscal 2008.

The nation’s largest consumer electronics retailer now expects to earn $3.05 to $3.10 per share, down from its previous estimate of $3.10 to $3.20 a share, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Saturday.

The macro-economic environment grew more challenging after the holidays, interim Chief Financial Officer Jim Muehlbauer said in a statement released Friday from Best Buy’s Richfield, Minn., headquarters. Our post-holiday results are not going to be what we originally expected.

The company’s shares fell 2.5 percent to close Friday at $44.62 while its stock has dropped 16 percent since December. Best Buy still plans to open 85 to 100 stores in the United States and 40 to 50 stores overseas by next year, Muehlbauer said.