What happened
Shares of electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY -1.47%) jumped as much as 20.1% today after management said demand for products has been strong amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At 2:15 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, shares were still up 13.5% on the day, outpacing the S&P 500's 6.2% gain.
So what
CEO Corie Barry said the company was seeing higher demand for electronics as more people across the country began to work from home. There's also strong demand for appliances like refrigerators and freezers as people stockpile more consumer staples like food.
Image source: Getty Images.
Analysts at Wells Fargo agreed that Best Buy will likely be one of the top-performing retailers in the pandemic because it's selling products people need to set up home offices. And a strong balance sheet could leave Best Buy coming out of the expected recession better than most retailers.
BBY Total Long Term Debt (Quarterly) data by YCharts.
Now what
The surge in people buying computers, monitors, and anything else they need for home offices won't be a long-lasting phenomenon, but it could give Best Buy some much needed short-term revenue. And that's what companies are looking for in an economy that could crash to a halt almost overnight. After collapsing 36% in the past month, this could be one of the retailers to bet on when a recovery finally arrives.
