Earnings preview: Best Buy third-quarter results

NEW YORK (AP) — Best Buy Co. reports its third-quarter results before the market opens Tuesday, and investors will be looking for more details on new CEO Hubert Joly's plans for the struggling consumer-electronics chain.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR: The Minneapolis company has faced falling sales as more people buy electronics at discounters or online.

On Tuesday, Best Buy held an analyst meeting to outline plans for the company. Joly said he hopes to improve sales via improving customer service and revamping stores while at the same time cutting supply-chain and overhead costs.

Minneapolis-based Best Buy tapped Joly in August to reverse a yearslong decline in its business as competition from online stores and discounters increased, and consumers' tastes shifted from more profitable items like TVs and desktop computers toward less profitable smartphones and tablets.

Investors would also like to hear if there's any update on a possible offer to buy the company that ex-chairman and co-founder Richard Schulze is mulling.

Also of interest will be any details of Best Buy's holiday plans. The holiday period is crucial since retailers can make up to 40 percent of annual revenue during the period.

WHY IT MATTERS: Best Buy is the largest U.S. specialty electronics store and how it does financially can still give some indication of how Americans are spending on discretionary goods, or more broadly, how they feel about the economy.

WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts expect earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $10.75 billion, according to FactSet.

LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Best Buy reported net income, excluding one-time items, of 47 cents per share on revenue of $12.1 billion.