BBY beats by 6 cents, guides 2008 within consensus

Earned $1.71 vs. $1.65 estimates.
Guides for 2008 EPS $3.25-$3.40 vs. $3.31 consensus, citing strong second half expectations.

Shares are over 7% higher in early extended trading.

Jim Muehlbauer, enterprise CFO (interim), said, “We delivered solid results and grew our market share in a volatile year. As we consider the macro-economic pressures on the consumer and evaluate the industry business trends, we believe it is prudent to plan for a soft consumer environment in the near-term. Given the current environment, we expect that growth in the second half of the year will more than offset modest declines in the first half. We are focusing our investments to quicken our progress in transforming the customer experience in key opportunity areas—like in Best Buy Mobile and in our international segment. We believe our plans strike the right balance of continuing to invest for future growth while still delivering earnings growth in the short-term.”