MINNEAPOLIS — Best Buy Co. Inc. said yesterday its comparable-store sales rose 1.5 percent in December on strong sales of video games and notebook computers.

The results were not as good as last year but far better than its rival Circuit City Stores Inc. Best Buy left its profit guidance unchanged.

Its shares fell $2.37, or 5.1 percent, to $44.20 yesterday.

"We remain very much in a sell first, ask questions later market with investors likely to point to projected weakness as spending slows next year," Credit Suisse analyst Gary Balter wrote in a note. But he said Best Buy stuck with the guidance it had raised previously, beat its most direct competitor, "has a product cycle that looks quite favorable for 2008 and has reduced its share count at advantageous prices" through buybacks.

Like other retailers, Best Buy's December was hurt by a calendar shift that put an extra week of post-Thanksgiving shopping in November.

On Monday, struggling Circuit City said same-store sales fell 11.4 percent in December.