Sector Wrap: Electronics retailers dip on sales

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange commission late Thursday, Best Buy said its September same-store sales fell 2 percent, a worse-than-expected figure.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key indicator of retailer performance because they measure growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

The Richfield, Minn.-based company didn't lower its outlook, but Goldman Sachs analyst Matthew Fassler said he was cutting his full-year estimates for 2008, 2009 and 2010.

"Frankly, the near-term update could have been worse, and the market may not respond punitively," Fassler told investors in a research note.

He lowered his 2008 earnings-per-share estimate to $2.88 from $3.14 while cutting his 2009 forecast to $2.86 from $3.34. He also lowered his 2010 projection to $3.08 from $3.62.

Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets analyst Scot Ciccarelli told investors in he was also "sharply" cutting his estimates for the company.

He lowered his third-quarter earnings estimate to 47 cents per share from 54 cents per share and his fourth quarter estimate to $1.67 from $1.83. That puts his 2008 projection at $3.05, down from $3.28.

Ciccarelli said he was also cutting his 2009 estimate to $3.20 from $3.60 "based on our assumption for a worsening recession."

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Best Buy to earn 47 cents per share this quarter and $1.77 in the fourth quarter. For the full year, Wall Street expects the retailer to earn $3.16 per share in 2009 and $3.34 per share the following year.