Best Buy adds to chorus of woes in retail

NEW YORK (AP) — A strong start to the year from Best Buy was overshadowed by a lengthening string of declining quarterly sales and a pessimistic outlook that added to a chorus of woes from the retail sector.

Before Target, Macy's Inc., J.C. Penney Co., Nordstrom Inc. and Kohl's Corp. all posted first-quarter sales declines as pressure increases from off-priced stores like T.J. Maxx and also online competition, namely Amazon.com.

A year earlier the consumer electronics retailer earned $129 million, or 36 cents per share.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 44 cents per share, easily topping the per-share projections of 35 cents from analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

While the results beat the $8.29 billion that analysts expected, Best Buy's first-quarter revenue has now dropped for the past three years.