Best Buy sales boom

NEW YORK

Best Buy put up big holiday sales numbers Wednesday, more evidence Americans are willing and able to spend.

A U.S. Commerce Department report this month cast a pall over the retail sector, raising concerns an extended period of elevated consumer confidence had ended.

Other big retailers, such as Walmart, defied report with healthy year-end quarters, but Best Buy excelled in holding off the onslaught of online operators by building its own strong e-commerce presence and leveraging the advantage of its physical stores.

The company said comparable-stores sales rose 3 percent in the fourth-quarter and 4.8 percent for the year. Shares jumped more than 11 percent before the opening bell Wednesday.

Associated Press