Sony Partners With Bad Robot Games To Publish New Co-op Shooter For PS5 And PC

Sony Group's growth prospects remain solid, Morningstar director Kazunori Ito says in a note. Projecting annual operating profit growth of 15.6% in the medium term, he raises the five-year forecast by 7.5%, citing strong September-quarter results and slower yen appreciation. Ito highlights the success of this year's "Demon Slayer" movie, which underscores Sony's decadelong strategy of acquiring strong intellectual properties and distribution networks. He expects the two sequels, set to be released in 2027 and 2029, to support the long-term performance of the music segment, to which the films are credited. Morningstar raises its fair value estimate to Y5,000 and $32.50 for Sony's Japanese shares and ADRs, respectively. The Tokyo-listed stock closed at Y4,700; ADRs were last at $29.44. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

By Chika Nakayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Lin Tao, chief financial officer of Sony Group Corp., refrained from commenting on the launch of a next-generation PlayStation console at a press conference held Tuesday, instead saying that the Japanese company is willing to "further extend the lifespan of the PlayStation 5."

"We haven't yet reached a stage to comment (on the next-generation console)," Tao said.

The PlayStation 5 was released in 2020, seven years after the launch of its predecessor, the PlayStation 4. "When we look at the current trend of the PlayStation 4, we notice that its lifespan has become longer," Tao said. "More than 10 years have passed since the release of the PlayStation 4, yet it still has many active users who continue to buy and play games."

The PlayStation 5 is still "in the middle of its journey," Tao added. "We are willing to further extend the lifespan of the PlayStation 5. We are eager to promote sales of the console for the holiday season."

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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By Kosaku Narioka

Sony Group plans to start selling a new, cheaper PlayStation 5 model for the Japanese market in time for the holiday shopping season.

Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company's videogame unit, said Wednesday in a blog post that it would begin selling the new disc-free PlayStation 5 model on Nov. 21 for a recommended retail price of 55,000 yen, equivalent to around $357, and will start taking orders Thursday.

Its regular disc-free version playable in many languages has a price tag of Y72,980.

The company said the basic functions of the new model remains the same as the regular model, but some specifications are tailored for the Japanese market. The new model can only be used by accounts in the country using Japanese, it said.

The coming holiday shopping season is an important period for Sony as it competes with rival Nintendo's Switch 2 console. The new Nintendo console has sold 10.4 million units as of September since its launch in June. The Japan-only Switch 2 model is on sale for Y49,980.

In the U.S., Sony raised its recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles by $50 in August, citing a challenging economic environment. The disc-free version is now sold for $499.99.

Sony said Tuesday that it sold 3.9 million PlayStation 5s globally in the three months ended September, slightly more than the 3.8 million units sold in the year-earlier period.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

By WSJ Staff

Nebius (NBIS): The Dutch technology company struck a $3 billion deal with Meta Platforms (META) to deliver AI infrastructure. However, its stock slipped.

SoftBank (JP:9984, SFTBY): The Japanese technology-investment conglomerate sold its Nvidia (NVDA) stake for $5.8 billion. SoftBank's quarterly net profit more than doubled because of gains from its OpenAI investment. Shares rose 2% in Tokyo.

Sony (JP:6758, SONY): The electronics and entertainment company raised its annual earnings forecast and projected a smaller tariff hit, as quarterly net profit rose. U.S.-listed American depositary receipts jumped 3%.

XPeng (HK:9868, XPEV): Shares in the Chinese electric-vehicle maker rallied amid optimism over its humanoid robots and hopes it can turn a profit earlier than expected. XPeng's Hong Kong-listed stock closed at the highest level in more than three years, while its ADRs also rose.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

Sony Group Corporation (SONY) reported second-quarter fiscal 2025 net income per share (on a GAAP basis) of ¥51.71, up from ¥48.04 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income came in at ¥311.4 billion compared with ¥291.8 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Quarterly total revenues rose 5% year over year to ¥3,107.9 billion, driven by higher revenues in the Game & Network Services (G&NS), Music and Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) segments, partially offset by a decline in the Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) segment.

Sony has updated its outlook for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. It now expects sales of ¥12,000 billion, up from the previous guidance of ¥11,700 billion. The top-line performance is likely to be driven by strengthening momentum in the G&NS and Music segments. For G&NS, revenues are now expected to be ¥4,470 billion compared with the earlier projection of ¥4,320 billion, while for Music, net sales are now estimated at ¥1,980 billion compared to ¥1,870 billion predicted earlier.

Following the announcement, Sony’s shares gained 4% in the pre-market trading today. 

Segmental Results

In the quarter under review, G&NS sales were up 4% year over year to ¥1,113.2 billion. The uptick was fueled by higher sales from network services and rising sales of game software titles. Operating income decreased 13% to ¥120.4 billion due to impairment losses of ¥31.5 billion on a portion of Bungie, Inc.’s intangible and other assets related to Destiny 2 and ¥18.3 billion in expenses from correcting previously capitalized development costs, partially offset by higher sales from network services.

Music sales improved 21% year over year to ¥542.4 billion in the fiscal second quarter on the back of higher revenues from streaming services in Recorded Music and Music Publishing, as well as mobile game applications in Visual Media & Platform. Operating income rose to ¥115.4 billion from ¥90.4 billion in the same quarter last year.

Pictures sales declined 3% year over year to ¥346 billion, affected by lower revenues from theatrical releases and catalog licensing in Motion Pictures, partially offset by higher revenues from Crunchyroll and growth in paid subscribers. Operating income plunged 25% year over year to ¥13.9 billion, as higher revenue from Crunchyroll was more than offset by lower revenues from theatrical releases.

Sony Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Sony Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sony Corporation Quote

ET&S sales totaled ¥575.7 billion, down 7% year over year, owing to a fall in unit sales of displays. Operating income decreased 13% to ¥61 billion, mainly due to lower sales in Displays and Imaging as well as the impact of tariffs, partially offset by reductions in operating expenses.

I&SS sales rose 15% year over year to ¥614.6 billion, owing to an increase in sales of image sensors for mobile products. Higher unit sales, coupled with a favorable product mix and the positive impact of the forex movement, acted as other catalysts. Operating income was ¥138.3 billion compared with ¥92.4 billion in the year-ago quarter, owing to higher sales and favorable forex impact.

All Other sales were nearly flat year over year at ¥23.6 billion in the fiscal second quarter. Operating loss was ¥2.9 billion compared with a loss of ¥6.5 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Other Details

For the quarter under review, total costs and expenses were ¥2,677.3 billion, up 3.8% year over year. Operating income was ¥429 billion, up 10%.

SONY’s Cash Flow & Liquidity

For the six months ended Sept. 30, Sony generated ¥471.6 billion of cash from operating activities compared with ¥616.3 billion a year ago.

As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had ¥1,497.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents with ¥1,345 billion of long-term debt.

Fiscal 2025 Forecast Bolstered

Operating income guidance has been raised to ¥1,430 billion from ¥1,330 billion after accounting for tariff impacts, driven by higher profits in the I&SS and Music segments and a reduction in the estimated tariff impact.

Net income is now estimated to be ¥1,050 billion compared with the prior view of ¥970 billion.

SONY also tweaked guidance for the I&SS and ET&S segments. For I&SS, revenues are now expected at ¥1,990 billion compared with the earlier forecast of ¥1,960 billion. For ET&S, revenues are now estimated at ¥2,300 billion compared with the earlier forecast of ¥2,280 billion.

SONY’s Zacks Rank

Sony currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Performance of Other Companies

GoPro, Inc. (GPRO) reported third-quarter 2025 non-GAAP loss per share of 9 cents, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 3 cents. The company forecasted non-GAAP adjusted loss of 4 cents per share (+/- 2 cents). The firm reported break-even earnings in the year-ago quarter. GPRO generated revenues of $162.9 million, down 37.1% year over year. The figure was within the company’s expectation of $160 million (+/- $10 million). The top line beat the consensus mark by 0.5%.

Sonos, Inc. (SONO) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP loss per share of 6 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at earnings of 5 cents. The company incurred a loss of 18 cents in the prior-year quarter. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a loss of 31 cents compared with a loss of 44 cents in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenues increased 12.7% year over year to $287.9 million. Moreover, the figure came near the high end of the company’s guidance of $260 million to $290 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the top line was pegged at $283.1 million.

Alto Ingredients (ALTO) came out with quarterly earnings of 19 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 6 cents per share. This compares to a loss of 4 cents per share a year ago. Alto Ingredients posted revenues of $240.99 million for the quarter ended September 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.91%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $251.81 million.

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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