Best Buy forecasts holiday-quarter sales below estimates, shares drop

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The company’s shares fell 9.4% to $125 in premarket trading.

Retailers are under tremendous pressure to keep shelves stocked for the holiday season as shipping logjams, shuttered factories in Asia and a scarcity of raw materials rip through global supply chains and drive product shortages.

A shortage of semiconductor chips used in electronic items has dented availability of some high-demand products, including the latest gaming consoles from Sony Corp (T:6758), Nintendo Co Ltd (T:7974) and Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Best Buy forecast fourth-quarter comparable sales between a fall of 2% and a rise of 1%, the mid point of which is below estimates of a 0.1% rise, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

The company’s comparable sales rose 1.6% in the third quarter, compared with estimates of a 0.3% dip.