Thanks to shoppers scooping up big-ticket items like laptops and mobile phones, Best Buy's same-store sales hardly slipped. The chain added 218 stores in the U.S. and ecommerce sales surged 21%, though powerhouses Wal-Mart and Amazon.com are coming on strong. Newcomer hhgregg is also taking advantage of post-crisis rents to ramp up expansion. Meanwhile, in the face of flagging CD and DVD sales, Best Buy picked up Napster and partnered with Tivo. Though the company is chasing high-margin digital content, it's not abandoning physical goods, with Segways, electric guitars and even patio furniture filling its stores. --J.S. |
| Key financials |
$ millions |
% change
from 2008 |
| Revenues |
45,015.0 |
12.5 |
| Profits |
1,003.0 |
-28.7 |
| Assets |
15,826.0 |
— |
| Stockholders' equity |
4,643.0 |
— |
| Market value (3/26/2010) |
18,042.3 |
— |
| Profits as % of |
|
| Revenues |
2.2 |
| Assets |
6.3 |
| Stockholders' equity |
21.6 |
| Earnings per share |
|
| 2009 $ |
2.39 |
| % change from 2008 |
-23.4 |
| 1999-2009 annual growth rate % |
17.5 |
| Total return to investors |
% |
| 2009 |
42.6 |
| 1999-2009 annual rate |
6.6 |
| 4 | Best Buy | 45 | 45,015.0 | | 5 | Staples | 101 | 24,275.5 | | 6 | TJX | 119 | 20,288.4 | | 7 | Gap | 162 | 14,197.0 | | 8 | Toys "R" Us | 171 | 13,568.0 | | 9 | Office Depot | 192 | 12,144.5 | | 10 | BJ's Wholesale Club | 232 | 10,187.0 | | 11 | GameStop | 255 | 9,078.0 | | 12 | Limited Brands | 269 | 8,632.5 | | 13 | OfficeMax | 313 | 7,212.1 | | 14 | Bed Bath & Beyond | 314 | 7,208.3 | | 15 | Ross Stores | 316 | 7,184.2 | | 16 | AutoZone | 329 | 6,816.8 | | 17 | Barnes & Noble | 372 | 5,596.3 | | 18 | Pantry | 382 | 5,472.0 | | 19 | Advance Auto Parts | 389 | 5,412.6 | | 20 | PetSmart | 393 | 5,336.4 | | 21 | Dollar Tree | 397 | 5,231.2 | | 22 | Foot Locker | 428 | 4,854.0 | | 23 | O'Reilly Automotive | 429 | 4,847.1 | | 24 | Big Lots | 436 | 4,726.8 | | 25 | TravelCenters of America | 440 | 4,699.8 | | 26 | Dick's Sporting Goods | 466 | 4,412.8 | | 27 | RadioShack | 481 | 4,276.0 | | 28 | Casey's General Stores | 485 | 4,251.5 | | 29 | Blockbuster | 500 | 4,161.8 |
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Interactives
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See how revenues and profits at America's 25 largest companies have risen and fallen over the past decade.
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From a single store in 1962 to more than 4,300 outlets today, see how the biggest retailer has expanded.
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