Sony raised its annual profit forecast after reporting a 45 per cent increase in second-quarter operating profit, boosted by the success of the new Spider-Man movie.
The Japanese entertainment group reported operating profit of 622 billion yen (€3.6 billion) for the quarter and raised its full-year profit outlook by 9 per cent, beating analyst expectations, on the back of the performance of its movie and games segments.
Revenue at Sony’s film division rose 48 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter, “primarily due to the contribution of” Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The latest instalment in the long-running franchise has taken close to $2.5 billion worldwide, making it one of the biggest releases of all time.
Sony’s games division also posted a 9 per cent jump in revenues in the quarter, boosted by higher sales of games from Sony’s studios. Marvel’s Wolverine had sold 2.4 million copies as of the start of November, still far from breaking even but contributing to profits in the quarter, according to analysts.
RM Block
The results come as Sony looks to convince investors of its strategic shift towards entertainment and the creation of original content.
The group is seeking to stitch together its gaming, anime, film and music businesses to build global franchises. Huge recent successes include The Last of Us, which was adapted from a PlayStation game into a popular HBO drama, and the animated film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Sony shares have risen more than a third from a low in June as investors have placed fresh bets on the strength of its entertainment businesses and the prospects for its gaming division.
The highly anticipated release of Grand Theft Auto VI this month is also propelling expectations since the PlayStation game is expected to capture a significant slice of sales.
“Spider-Man has been a massive hit and the market seriously underestimated just how well Sony’s movies business would perform. It’s a huge beat, with an upgrade to guidance to match,” said David Gibson, an analyst at MST Financial.
“Gaming was less exciting, but with Grand Theft Auto VI just two weeks away and pre-orders looking extremely strong, that could very well change quickly. The question is how much of that success is already priced into the shares,” he added.
Meanwhile, Japanese rival Nintendo disappointed analysts on Thursday, with operating profits declining 16 per cent in the second quarter as the new Switch 2 suffered from rising component costs and a lack of big new games.
Nintendo will hope that Thursday’s release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – a remake of the smash-hit console game – will drive more sales heading into the crucial holiday period, say analysts.
Shares in Sony and Nintendo rose 7 and 6 per cent on Thursday, respectively, before the results were released. Investors are betting that more restrained investment in AI following the Democrats’ midterm wins in the US this week could ease pressure on memory chip prices and, in turn, lower production costs for their games consoles.
– Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2026
