Best Buy's earnings rise, but falling prices trim profit margins

Falling prices for electronics kept taking a chunk out of Best Buy (BBY) profits, but company executives said more sales and traffic helped it achieve third-quarter earnings that easily beat analysts' estimates. And expecting more of the same for the rest of the year, they upped their guidance to investors.

The electronics chain posted net income of $227 million, or 53 cents per share, a dime better than the 43 cents Wall Street had expected. That's 51% above the same period a year ago, after factoring out a one-time accounting charge that hit earnings in 2008.