Best Buy Co., Inc.

Is Best Buy publicly traded?
Yes. Best Buy Co., Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol BBY. The company has been publicly traded since its IPO in 1985. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street. No single shareholder holds a controlling stake.

What is Best Buy's revenue?
Best Buy reported FY2025 revenue of approximately $41.4 billion for the fiscal year ended February 2025. In Q3 FY2026, the company reported domestic revenue of $8.88 billion (up 2.1 percent) and international revenue of $794 million (up 6.1 percent). The company raised its full-year adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $6.25 to $6.35 for FY2026.

Who is Best Buy's CEO?
Corie Barry serves as CEO of Best Buy Co., Inc. She succeeded Hubert Joly in 2019 and has led the company's digital transformation initiatives, marketplace launch, and strategic focus on customer experience and emerging technology categories.

What is Geek Squad?
Geek Squad is Best Buy's technical service brand, providing installation, repair, and support services for electronics and technology products. Geek Squad services are available in-store, in-home, and remotely. The service creates a competitive advantage by differentiating Best Buy from pure-play online retailers and generating recurring revenue.

How many stores does Best Buy operate?
Best Buy operates over 1,000 stores worldwide, primarily across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company operates various store formats including large-format Best Buy stores, Best Buy Mobile stores, and specialized Magnolia Audio Video locations.

What is Best Buy's digital strategy?
Best Buy's digital strategy centers on marketplace expansion, AI-powered search implementation, and omnichannel integration. The company launched its third-party marketplace in 2026, expanding its online assortment sixfold. AI-powered search features are being rolled out on the website and app to improve product discovery. Domestic online revenue represents 31.8 percent of total domestic revenue.

Who founded Best Buy?
Best Buy was founded in 1966 by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler as Sound of Music, an audio specialty store in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company was renamed Best Buy in 1983 when it opened its first superstore concept. The company went public in 1985.

Best Buy was founded in 1966 by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler as Sound of Music, an audio specialty store in St. Paul, Minnesota. The company expanded throughout the 1970s and 1980s, adding video equipment and other consumer electronics to its product range.

In 1983, the company opened its first superstore concept under the Best Buy name, featuring a wide selection of consumer electronics and appliances. The company went public in 1985, raising capital to fund its expansion across the United States.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Best Buy grew through acquisitions including Future Shop (Canada), Geek Squad (technical services, 2002), and Magnolia (high-end audio/video). The company became the largest consumer electronics retailer in the United States, competing against Circuit City, which eventually went out of business in 2008.

In 2012, Best Buy faced significant challenges from online retailers, particularly Amazon, and adopted a "Renew Blue" strategy under then-CEO Hubert Joly. The strategy focused on price matching, improving the in-store experience, expanding Geek Squad services, and building omnichannel capabilities. This turnaround successfully reversed declining sales and restored profitability.

Under CEO Corie Barry, who succeeded Joly in 2019, Best Buy has continued to invest in digital transformation, services, and emerging technology categories. The company has focused on smart home offerings, connected devices, gaming, computing, and mobile phones. In 2026, Best Buy launched its third-party marketplace and AI-powered search, representing significant investments in its digital platform.

Best Buy has established comprehensive sustainability and ethics initiatives. The company has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and has set science-based targets for reducing its carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030 from a 2009 baseline. These targets adhere to Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) requirements.

Best Buy is committed to certifying all supply chain locations as TRUE zero waste, with nearly 69 percent of supply chain facilities already achieving zero waste TRUE certification. The company's waste reduction programs include electronics recycling, packaging optimization, and sustainable product design initiatives.

The company has committed to helping customers save $5 billion in energy costs by 2030 through the sale of ENERGY STAR certified products. Best Buy provides environmentally preferable products and educates customers about energy-efficient electronics.

Best Buy has been recognized on the CDP Climate A List for seven consecutive years, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 13 consecutive years, and the Ethisphere World's Most Ethical Companies list as a 10-time honoree. The company holds an MSCI ESG Research AAA rating.

Best Buy is not a Certified B Corporation. The company publishes an annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report detailing its environmental, social, and governance performance.

Best Buy faces scrutiny related to warranty practices, data privacy, labor practices, marketplace competition, and electronic waste management.

Warranty and protection plan practices: Best Buy has faced criticism regarding the pricing and terms of its Geek Squad Protection Plans and extended warranty offerings. Consumer advocacy groups have questioned whether these plans provide adequate value relative to their cost, with some investigations suggesting that customers may be paying for coverage that duplicates manufacturer warranties. In 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau examined Best Buy's warranty disclosure practices, leading to enhanced transparency requirements for plan terms and conditions.

Data privacy and security: In 2023, Best Buy experienced a data breach that exposed customer information, leading to investigations by state attorneys general and increased scrutiny of the company's cybersecurity practices. The incident required Best Buy to provide identity protection services to affected customers and implement enhanced security measures across its digital platforms.

Labor practices: In 2024, Best Buy faced scrutiny regarding its commission structure for sales associates, with some former employees alleging that the company's compensation policies incentivized unnecessary service add-ons. The company has also faced questions about warehouse worker safety and compensation practices at its distribution centers.

Marketplace competition: As Best Buy expands its marketplace operations, traditional electronics manufacturers and smaller retailers have raised concerns about the marketplace potentially favoring Best Buy's own products over third-party sellers. The Federal Trade Commission has monitored Best Buy's marketplace practices to ensure fair competition and transparent pricing.

Electronic waste: Environmental groups have criticized Best Buy's electronics recycling program, arguing that the company should take more responsibility for the end-of-life management of products it sells. Best Buy has responded by expanding its recycling initiatives and setting more ambitious sustainability targets, though some advocates argue that the company should do more given its position as the largest electronics retailer in the US.