According to the Finance app IQIYI, after UBS, the international bank, upgraded its rating on the stock of Best Buy, the leader in the US consumer electronics retail industry,$Best Buy (BBY.US)$Best Buy is expected to benefit from the upgrade cycle of consumer electronics such as PCs and smartphones, as well as the supply cycle of new products. UBS has provided a target stock price of up to $106 for Best Buy in the next 12 months, meaning a potential increase of over 20%.

Michael Lasser, a stock analyst at UBS Group, wrote in a report that these favorable factors may jointly push Best Buy's overall sales to a strong comeback trend in the second half of 2025. The analyst pointed out in the report that: "Obviously, in the early stages of the new cycle of consumer electronics products, Best Buy's market share in the consumer electronics sales field tends to increase significantly."

The main point of UBS analyst Lasser's view is that as consumer electronics such as PC, smartphones, and smartwatches integrated with end-side AI models will be launched this year, Best Buy, which occupies an important position in the US consumer electronics retail field, will inevitably benefit from a new cycle of consumer electronics upgrades.

Undoubtedly, 2024 will be the "AI Smartphone Year" in the smart phone sales field where Best Buy is focused. Research institute Canalys predicts that by 2024, the global penetration rate of AI smartphones will reach 16%, and Apple is expected to occupy more than half of the high-end market. By 2028, Canalys predicts that the proportion of AI smartphones will grow exponentially to 54%, and the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the AI smartphone market size from 2023 to 2028 will reach 63%, mainly driven by consumers' strong demand for AI assistants and end-side automation processing, and other enhanced functions.

It is worth noting that analyst Lasser believes that Best Buy's restructuring efforts on comparable sales trends may bring significant profit torque.

According to UBS's forecast data, with Best Buy's cost-reducing efforts sweeping across the United States, the number of employees in each store has decreased from 102 people in the 2020 fiscal year to 77 people in the latest fiscal year. Even if this number rises to 83, and Best Buy's comparable sales growth rate reaches about 3%, earnings per share may reach more than $7.30 (currently $6.70).

In pre-market trading on the US stock market, Best Buy's stock price rose nearly 4% to $90.65, higher than its 52-week high. UBS Group's target price for the stock is as high as $106. Over the past six weeks, the company's stock price has risen more than 15%. Best Buy's short selling volume accounted for 7.19% of the total floating shares. New buyers of Best Buy stock can receive a dividend yield of 4.31%.