Best Buy to announce earnings amid looming tariff threats

Best Buy is expected to announce quarterly earnings on Thursday following periods of strong profits. But significant trade war tariffs are looming for televisions, laptops, smart watches and video game equipment made in China.

In December, the Trump administration plans to slap 15% tariffs on a large number of Chinese imports, including retail and consumer goods. Retailers will have to decide whether to pass along higher costs or absorb some of them in the form of thinner profit margins.

“We like to call Best Buy the poster child of tariff risk,” said analyst Camilla Yanushevsky of CFRA Research.