What happened
Consumer-electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY -0.11%) edged past the market last month as the stock gained 52% compared to an 8% spike in the S&P 500, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Shareholders are still looking at modest losses over the past year, with shares down 13% versus a 3% increase in the broader market.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
January's rally had much more to do with shifting investor attitudes in general than anything specific out of the company. Best Buy stock plunged in December along with most of the market on fears of an economic growth slowdown and rising world trade tensions. When those concerns eased during January to help produce the market's best start to a year in decades, the retailer rebounded just as quickly.
Check out the latest Best Buy earnings call transcript.
Now what
Investors won't have to wait long for more clarity about Best Buy's business, with the retailer set to post its holiday-quarter results on Feb. 27. Sales growth surpassed management's targets last quarter, but CEO Hubert Joly and his team issued a conservative forecast for the ultra-competitive holiday period.
They see sales gains landing at about 1.5% to put the retailer at growth of between 4% and 5% for the full year. The prospects of Best Buy's January rally continuing deeper into 2019 will likely rest on management's hitting that forecast and predicting further robust sales gains for the new fiscal year.
