Best Buy results beat a bright spot amid weak annual forecast

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Best Buy (BBY.N) on Tuesday trimmed the top end of its annual revenue forecast after beating quarterly sales and profit estimates as deeper discounts encouraged bargain-hunting Americans to shop for appliances and laptops at its stores.

Shares of the top U.S. electronics retailer were last up about 1% in volatile premarket trading.

From big-box retailer Target (TGT.N) to department-store chain Macy's (M.N), U.S. companies have flagged cautious consumers cutting back on discretionary spending and focusing on essentials like groceries due to sticky inflation.

However, Best Buy has banked on promotions to attract customers and had offered higher discounts during its "Black Friday in July" savings event in an attempt to compete with Amazon.com's (AMZN.O) 48-hour "Prime Day" shopping event.

"They did a very good job despite the discounting...it was not as aggressive as maybe what investors would have thought," said Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman, adding Best Buy had given guidance incorporating the discounting and "they did a little bit better than their plan."

Total revenue fell 7.2% to $9.58 billion in the second quarter but beat estimates of $9.52 billion, while adjusted profit of $1.22 per share also topped analysts' estimates of $1.06, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Best Buy said in May the inflation-induced weakness in electronics should bottom out by the end of the year and be less of a pressure on the industry.

The company now expects annual revenue between $43.8 billion and $44.5 billion, compared to its previous forecast of $43.8 billion to $45.2 billion.

Best Buy sees fiscal 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $6.00 to $6.40, compared to prior expectations of $5.70 to $6.50.

Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila

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