by Kyle Woodley | March 29, 2012 4:36 pm
[1]While the markets listed slightly into the red Thursday, Best Buy (NYSE:BBY[2]) was headed downward full-throttle.
BBY shares dropped 7% on Thursday after the company announced a massive fourth-quarter loss and the impending closure of 50 of its big-box stores[3].
Best Buy lost $1.7 billion ($4.89 per share) in Q4 2011, down from $651 million in profits ($1.62) per share in the year-ago period. While adjusted earnings came out to a profit of $2.47 per share and beat expectations by 31 cents, revenues of $16.6 billion fell short of estimates for $17.2 billion.
The company also said it would shutter 50 of its big-box stores, though it has plans to renovate existing stores and open 100 smaller locations. Also in the report was a note saying the company would make “reductions to fund investments in enhanced customer experience and growth initiatives” — a not-so-good signal for the stores’ current customer service.
A number of Chinese stocks also were headed lower Thursday, as investors continue to fear a slowdown in the emerging market’s economy. Online stock Youku (NASDAQ:YOKU[4]) was down 3.5%, as was the company it’s buying out, Tudou (NASDAQ:TUDO[5], -2.2%). Even PetroChina (NYSE:PTR[6]) was down less than a percent on an otherwise celebratory day, in which the company announced it had surpassed energy titan Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM[7]) in crude oil production[8].
Also on Thursday, mobile advertising solutions firm Millennial Media (NYSE:MM[9]) went public, and the reception was glowing[10] — shares almost doubled to $25 after pricing at $13.
Kyle Woodley[17] is the assistant editor of InvestorPlace.com[18]. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Check out recaps from previous trading days here[19].
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