Founded in 1966, Best Buy has grown from a small audio specialty store in St. Paul, Minnesota to a household name and the leading consumer electronics retailer in the U.S. Whether you‘re buying a new laptop, TV, appliance or cell phone, chances are Best Buy is one of the first places that comes to mind.
But how much do you really know about this retail giant? Here are 34 statistics, facts and trends that provide an in-depth look at Best Buy‘s history, business operations, performance and future outlook. After reading this, you‘ll be a Best Buy expert!
The History & Growth of Best Buy
1. Best Buy was founded as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music in 1966.
Best Buy‘s origins date back to 1966 when founder Richard M. Schulze and his business partner James Wheeler opened a store called Sound of Music in St. Paul, Minnesota. The store originally specialized in high-fidelity stereos, audio equipment and components targeted at audiophiles.
2. Sound of Music was rebranded as Best Buy in 1983.
After a couple early years of success, Sound of Music began expanding its product offerings beyond just audio equipment. In 1983, the company officially rebranded and changed its name to Best Buy Co., Inc. to reflect its broader selection of consumer electronics.
3. Best Buy went public in 1985.
On June 4, 1985, Best Buy had its initial public offering on the NASDAQ stock exchange, transitioning from a private to a public company. 8,000,000 shares of Best Buy stock were made available at an opening price of $8.50 per share.
4. By 1992, Best Buy reached $1 billion in annual revenues.
Best Buy‘s growth really took off in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1992, the company surpassed $1 billion in revenue for the first time. Just 6 years after going public, Best Buy was already generating 10-figure sales numbers annually.
5. Best Buy opened its 500th store in 1999.
The 1990s saw rapid expansion of Best Buy stores across the United States. The company opened its 500th location in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999. This meant Best Buy was opening around 50 new stores per year on average that decade!
6. Best Buy expanded internationally in the 2000s.
After conquering the U.S., Best Buy began opening stores internationally in the 2000s, starting with Canada in 2002. This was followed by an expansion to China in 2006 and Mexico in 2008. However, Best Buy eventually pulled out of these latter two countries in the 2010s.
7. At its peak in 2012, Best Buy operated 1,779 stores worldwide.
2012 marked the peak of Best Buy‘s global store count. In that year, the company had 1,779 stores across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, China and Europe. However, Best Buy closed its big box stores in China and Europe by the end of 2012 to focus more on North America.
Best Buy‘s Business & Operations
8. Best Buy operates 998 stores in the U.S. as of 2023.
Currently, there are 998 Best Buy stores across the United States. This is down from a peak of 1,600 U.S. stores a decade ago, as the company has strategically closed some underperforming locations. However, the U.S. still accounts for the vast majority of Best Buy‘s retail footprint.
9. Best Buy has 160 stores in Canada, its only international market.
Outside of the U.S., Canada is the only other country where Best Buy still operates. The company has 160 stores across Canada, which it entered in 2002 and remains the largest consumer electronics retailer. All other international Best Buy stores have been shut down.
10. Over 75% of the U.S. population lives within 15 minutes of a Best Buy store.
One of Best Buy‘s biggest strengths is the expansive reach of its brick-and-mortar locations. Over three-quarters of Americans live within a 15 minute drive of a Best Buy store, providing a high level of customer access and convenience for electronics shopping needs.
11. Best Buy operates across three channels – in-store, online and phone.
While physical retail locations are the foundation of Best Buy‘s business model, the company actually uses an omnichannel approach to serve customers. In addition to nearly 1000 U.S. stores, Best Buy sells products via its e-commerce site BestBuy.com and over the phone through call centers.
12. Best Buy‘s biggest product category is computing and mobile phones.
What does Best Buy sell the most of? Computing (laptops, desktops, tablets, etc.) and mobile phones make up the retailer‘s largest product segment. Home theater, appliances, entertainment, services and other categories account for the rest of Best Buy‘s sales mix.
13. Best Buy offers its own credit card with 5% back in rewards.
To incentivize loyalty and bigger ticket purchases, Best Buy provides a store credit card. The Best Buy Visa credit card gives shoppers 5% back in rewards on Best Buy purchases, plus 3% back on gas purchases, 2% back on dining and groceries, and 1% back everywhere else Visa is accepted.
14. Approximately 40% of Best Buy‘s sales come from its own brands and services.
Best Buy sells all the top consumer electronic brands like Apple, Samsung, Sony and Microsoft. But a large chunk of the company‘s business actually comes from its own private label brands and Geek Squad services division. About 40% of Best Buy‘s revenue is from these proprietary offerings.
Best Buy‘s Employees & Culture
15. Best Buy has over 105,000 employees worldwide.
Operating a chain of nearly 1000 stores requires a lot of manpower. As of 2023, Best Buy employs approximately 105,000 people, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. This makes Best Buy one of the largest retailers in North America.
16. The average Best Buy employee makes $13.67 per hour.
According to data from PayScale, the average hourly pay for a Best Buy employee is $13.67. This varies by position, with retail supervisors earning around $18.66 per hour on the high end and cashiers making about $9.63 per hour on the low end. Most in-store employees make between $10-$15 hourly.
17. Best Buy has made the Fortune 500 list for 26 straight years.
Best Buy is consistently ranked as one of America‘s largest companies by revenue. The electronics retailer has made the prestigious Fortune 500 list, which ranks U.S. companies by total sales, every year since 1997. In 2023, Best Buy was #134 on the list with $46.3 billion in revenue.
18. Best Buy has been recognized as one of the World‘s Most Ethical Companies.
Beyond just financial performance, Best Buy is also highly regarded for its business practices. The company has been named one of the World‘s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for seven years in a row. This recognizes Best Buy‘s strong company culture of ethics and integrity.
Best Buy‘s Financial Performance & Future
19. Best Buy generated $46.3 billion in revenue in fiscal 2023.
2022 was another strong financial year for Best Buy. The company pulled in $46.3 billion in total revenue for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2023. While this was a 10.4% decrease from 2021‘s record-setting $51.8 billion, it still represents Best Buy‘s second highest sales year ever.
20. Best Buy‘s revenue has grown at a 5.6% compound annual growth rate over the past decade.
Zooming out, Best Buy has delivered very solid and steady topline growth over the past 10 years. Since 2013, the company‘s revenue has increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6%. This consistent growth is especially impressive for a mature retailer.
21. Best Buy‘s net income was $1.4 billion in fiscal 2023.
Looking at profitability, Best Buy recorded net earnings of $1.4 billion for fiscal 2023. This translates to a healthy net margin of 3.1%. The company‘s bottom line has remained fairly stable the past few years even with COVID-related disruptions.
22. Best Buy‘s market cap is around $16 billion as of May 2023.
As a public company, Best Buy‘s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BBY. The company currently has a market capitalization (share price multiplied by number of outstanding shares) of approximately $16 billion, making it a large cap stock.
23. Best Buy has paid a quarterly dividend since 2003.
Best Buy is known as a consistent dividend payer. The company has paid a regular quarterly cash dividend to shareholders since 2003 and even continued payouts during the challenging early pandemic period. As of May 2023, Best Buy‘s dividend yield is around 5%.
24. Best Buy projects flat revenue for fiscal 2024.
After two years of above-average sales related to COVID and stimulus checks, Best Buy expects growth to moderate. For fiscal 2024, the company is projecting roughly flat year-over-year revenue of $43.8-$45.2 billion as consumer spending normalizes.
While not anticipating much topline growth this year, Best Buy is leaning into share buybacks to return more capital to investors. The company intends to repurchase $3.5 billion of its own stock in fiscal 2024, a significant increase from the $1.5 billion spent on buybacks last year.
Best Buy Fun Facts & Superlatives
26. The most expensive TV ever sold at Best Buy was a 100" Samsung for $160,000.
Have you ever wondered about the most expensive item available at Best Buy? That title likely belongs to a 100-inch Samsung TV once priced at $160,000! This larger-than-life display packed over 33 million pixels and cost as much as a supercar.
27. Best Buy‘s oldest store still in operation opened in 1984.
With so many stores nationwide, there‘s probably a Best Buy location near you. But which one has been serving customers the longest? That would be store #51 in Roseville, Minnesota which originally opened way back in 1984 and is still going strong today.
28. 6 million pounds of batteries are recycled by Best Buy each year.
Here‘s an electrifying stat – through its recycling program, Best Buy collects and recycles about 6 million pounds worth of AA, AAA and other household batteries annually. That‘s equivalent to the weight of over 150 school buses!
29. Best Buy sells enough appliances each year to fill 4,100 Boeing 747s.
While it started as an audio equipment store, Best Buy has grown into one of the top appliance retailers in the U.S. How many fridges, ovens, washers and dryers does Best Buy move? Enough to fill the cargo space of over 4,000 jumbo jets per year!
30. Over 3 million HDMI cables are sold by Best Buy per year.
HDMI cables are one of the most common accessories purchased by Best Buy customers to connect their various devices. All those gaming consoles, cable boxes and streaming players add up – Best Buy sells north of 3 million HDMI cables on an annual basis!
31. In 2018, Best Buy became the first major retailer to sell Connected Fitness equipment.
Connected Fitness equipment like Peloton bikes were all the rage during the pandemic. But Best Buy was ahead of the curve, partnering with Flywheel Sports to become the first big box retailer to carry these smart workout machines back in 2018.
32. If you visited one Best Buy store per day, it would take almost 3 years to see them all.
Traveling to every single Best Buy store in the U.S. would be the ultimate electronics road trip. But it would take some serious time and planning. With 998 locations nationwide, you‘d have to visit one new Best Buy every day for nearly three years straight to hit them all!
33. Best Buy sells over 600 different laptop and desktop computer models.
Need a new computer? Best Buy has you covered and then some. The retailer currently lists over 600 distinct laptop and desktop models on its website from top brands like Apple, HP, Dell and Lenovo. That‘s a whole lot of processing power!
34. Best Buy was Yahoo Finance‘s Company of the Year in 2022.
Best Buy isn‘t just surviving but thriving in the age of e-commerce. The company‘s ability to grow sales and adapt to changing consumer behaviors during the pandemic earned it the title of Yahoo Finance‘s 2022 Company of the Year.
The Bottom Line on Best Buy
Since starting as a small audio store called Sound of Music in the 1960s, Best Buy has established itself as North America‘s leading consumer electronics retailer. Through strong retail execution, customer service and an evolving omnichannel strategy, the company has remained relevant despite increasing competition from Amazon and other online players.
As the data shows, Best Buy is a financially healthy and highly profitable business. The company has delivered solid growth and shareholder returns over the past decade. And with continued investments in stores, e-commerce and Geek Squad services, Best Buy appears well-positioned to keep succeeding for years to come.
Of course, the consumer electronics landscape is always changing. New products and brands emerge all the time. But with its track record of adapting and strong customer loyalty, expect Best Buy to remain a go-to electronics destination and a fun store to shop well into the future!
