Games and "Spider-Man 4" drive growth on two fronts; Sony (SONY.US) Q2 operating profit rises 45%, exceeds expectations, and raises full-year earnings guidance

According to Golden Ten Data, before the US stock market opened on November 5, Sony Group (SONY.US) announced its fiscal year 2026 second quarter results. Thanks to the robust performance of its gaming and film businesses, its operating profit for the second fiscal quarter increased by 45% to 622.3 billion yen (approximately $3.95 billion), exceeding market expectations.

The financial report shows that the company's Q2 revenue was 3.4294 trillion yen, a year-on-year increase of 10.3%; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 449.6 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 24.2%.

If the profit from the divested financial business of the same period last year is excluded, the year-on-year growth under continuing operations is 44.4%. Cumulative revenue for the first half of the year was 6.2672 trillion yen (+9.4%), operating profit was 1.0988 trillion yen (+42.9%), and diluted earnings per share were 134.30 yen.

In terms of segment performance, Games & Network Services was the largest profit driver, with operating profit for the quarter at 220.1 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 82.9%; Film business operating profit was 92.6 billion yen, more than five times higher than 13.9 billion yen for the same period last year, with revenue up 48.4% year-on-year. The blockbuster film "Spider-Man: A New Day" was a key contributor to the film division's results. Music business operating profit reached 122.8 billion yen, up 6.4%; Imaging & Sensing Solutions operating profit was 154.6 billion yen, up 11.8%, but revenue fell by 5.1% year-on-year due to the image sensor market.

The company simultaneously raised its full-year fiscal year 2026 guidance: projected revenue of 13 trillion yen (+4.2%), operating profit of 1.87 trillion yen (+29.2%), and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company at 1.33 trillion yen (+29.0%). The full-year profit outlook has been raised by approximately 9% compared to previous expectations. Regarding dividends, the interim dividend per share for the first half was 17.50 yen; the full-year expected dividend per share is 35.00 yen, a year-on-year increase of 40%.

Looking ahead, Sony's gaming business is expected to be a major beneficiary of the November 19 release of GTA 6, but the company also faces cost pressures as storage chip prices rise amid the AI boom. This cost pressure is affecting the entire consumer electronics industry, and Apple (AAPL.US) also warned of profit margin pressure for the holiday season this week.