Best Buy holiday sales fall, weakness in U.S.

MINNEAPOLIS - Best Buy (BBY) said Thursday that a key sales barometer fell during the holiday shopping season, stung partly by weakness in the U.S. and a highly promotional retail environment.

Its stock dropped almost 23 percent in premarket trading.

Best Buy Co. said comparable store sales dipped 0.8 percent for the nine weeks ended Jan. 4. This was better than the 1.7 percent decline in the prior-year period.

The consumer electronics company defines comparable store sales as sales at stores, call centers and websites operating for at least 14 full months as well as revenue related to other comparable sales channels.

The metric fell 0.9 percent in the U.S. compared with flat results a year ago. Internationally, the figure climbed 0.1 percent versus a 10.3 percent drop in the prior-year period.