March 4 (Reuters) - Best Buy forecast annual comparable sales and profit largely below expectations on Tuesday, indicating that cautious spending by Americans on high-priced items such as appliances and gaming consoles could persist amid tariffs woes.

Shares of the top U.S. electronics retailer reversed earlier gains to drop 2% in premarket trading.

Major U.S. retailers including Target and Walmart have preferred to provide cautious forecasts, citing uncertainty around President Donald Trump's latest tariffs.

"As we enter FY26, we believe consumer behavior will be largely similar to last year – remaining resilient but still dealing with high inflation that is driving expenses up across their lives, making them value focused and thoughtful about big ticket purchase," Best Buy finance head Matt Bilunas said.

Trump's new 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, while duties on Chinese goods were doubled to 20%.

Company executives have in the past said Best Buy has about 60% of its overall cost of goods coming from China. Mexico represents Best Buy's second-largest sourcing country after China.

Best Buy expects fiscal year 2026 comparable sales to be in the range of flat to up 2%, largely below analysts' average expectations of a 1.71% rise, according to data compiled by LSEG. The forecast does not include the impact of recently implemented or proposed tariffs.

Adjusted profit per share is forecast to rise in the range of $6.20 to $6.60, compared to expectations of $6.55.

However, the Richfield, Minnesota-based retailer posted a surprise rise in quarterly comparable sales for the all-important holiday shopping season, as customers took advantage of promotions to snap up high-end appliances and gaming consoles.

The company's fourth-quarter comparable sales rose 0.5%, snapping 12 straight quarters of declines. Analysts on average had expected a 1.33% drop.

It earned $2.58 per share on an adjusted basis, above estimates of $2.40.