Its shares rose as much as 6.7% in Tokyo on Tuesday, their highest intraday gain in over a month. Sony also announced a new ¥100 billion buyback of its shares and matched Kyoto-based rival Nintendo Co. in lifting its projections and signalling resilient entertainment demand.
Alongside its music segment, which houses anime content like Demon Slayer, Sony hiked its forecast for sales and profit from its smart sensing division. The company is a longtime leader in providing high-end mobile cameras to the likes of Apple Inc., though in recent times it’s ceded some ground to Samsung Electronics Co. Its higher expectations signal optimism about the broader smartphone market, which has seen this year’s iPhone lineup selling significantly better than its predecessor.Sony Group Corp. raised its profit outlook after reporting stronger-than-expected earnings, buoyed by its entertainment portfolio and resurgent demand for its premium smartphone camera sensors.
The Tokyo-based conglomerate now expects ¥1.43 trillion ($9.3 billion) in operating profit for the year through March, up 8% from its previous guidance. This was in part because the company has lowered its projection for the impact of US tariffs. Sony also reported operating profit of ¥429 billion in the quarter through September, beating analyst estimates as sales surged thanks to blockbuster movies like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle.Its shares rose as much as 6.7% in Tokyo on Tuesday, their highest intraday gain in over a month. Sony also announced a new ¥100 billion buyback of its shares and matched Kyoto-based rival Nintendo Co. in lifting its projections and signalling resilient entertainment demand.
Alongside its music segment, which houses anime content like Demon Slayer, Sony hiked its forecast for sales and profit from its smart sensing division. The company is a longtime leader in providing high-end mobile cameras to the likes of Apple Inc., though in recent times it’s ceded some ground to Samsung Electronics Co. Its higher expectations signal optimism about the broader smartphone market, which has seen this year’s iPhone lineup selling significantly better than its predecessor.
The PlayStation maker sold 3.9 million units of its flagship PS5 console, higher than it had in the same period a year earlier. The company also sold more software for its gaming platforms and more from its first-party studios, though its number of active PlayStation users slipped to 119 million.
“I believe Sony has already begun preparing for the launch of its next-generation console, but at the same time, the PS5 appears to have a longer-than-expected lifespan,” said Morningstar research director Kazunori Ito. “Despite the lack of major software releases in the first half of the fiscal year, hardware sales have remained roughly on par with the previous year.”
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