MINNEAPOLIS -- Best Buy Co. Inc. said Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings fell 27 percent because of a slowdown in consumer spending since July, particularly in prerecorded music and home office products.
The nation's largest consumer electronics chain earned $62 million, or 19 cents a share, in the quarter ended Aug. 31, down from $85 million, or 26 cents a share, a year earlier.
Second-quarter sales rose 20 percent to $5.01 billion from $4.16 billion a year ago, reflecting the addition of 88 new stores over the past year and inclusion of sales from 100 Future Shop stores.
For the first half, Best Buy lost $216 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with a profit of $140 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The loss was due to $348 million, or $1.07 per share, in charges related to changes in accounting rules.
Revenues were $9.6 billion in the first half, compared with $7.86 billion in the year-ago period.
