Sony has reported a sharp rise in quarterly profit, beating market expectations as its games and movies businesses delivered a strong three months and the company lifted its outlook for the full year.
Operating profit for the second quarter — the three months to the end of September — rose 45% from a year earlier to ¥622.3 billion ($3.95 billion), well ahead of the ¥505 billion average forecast from 12 analysts polled by LSEG, Reuters reported. Earnings per share climbed 47.9% to ¥76.49, while sales rose 10.3% and the operating margin widened to 18.1% from 13.8% a year earlier.
The pictures division was a standout contributor, helped by the hit film “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”, while the games business also performed strongly. Sony raised its full-year operating income forecast by 9% to ¥1.87 trillion, with sales guidance lifted to ¥13 trillion and net income now expected at ¥1.33 trillion.
Sony also lifted its outlook for its chips and music divisions. The company is a major maker of image sensors used in smartphones.
The games business is expected to get a further boost from the launch of “Grand Theft Auto VI” on 19 November, one of the most anticipated releases in the industry’s history. But Sony is grappling with higher memory chip prices, driven by surging demand from the artificial intelligence boom — a cost pressure facing the wider industry. Apple this week also flagged pressure on margins over the holiday quarter from elevated memory prices.
Rival Nintendo, meanwhile, reported an earnings slide that missed market expectations, although it held its full-year profit forecast and its target of selling 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles.
Sony’s shares rose about 7% on the results, according to the games publication Push Square.
Sources: Reuters, “Sony posts 45% Q2 profit rise on movies, games boost”, https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/sony-posts-45-q2-profit-rise-beating-estimates-2026-11-05/ ; Zacks, “SONY Q2 Earnings & Revenues Rise on Gaming & Pictures Strength”, https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/3023888/sony-q2-earnings-revenues-rise-on-gaming-pictures-strength
