Sony Corporation witnessed a significant surge in its stock value on Friday, climbing as much as 10.7%. This leap followed the company's announcement of an upward revision in its revenue and profit forecasts for the current financial year ending in March. The noteworthy performance is attributed to the robust growth in Sony's gaming and music divisions during the fiscal third quarter. Sony's president and CEO, Hiroki Totoki, remarked that the number of monthly active users across PlayStation platforms reached an unprecedented 129 million in December, marking a 5% year-on-year increase.
The impressive user engagement has propelled lifetime sales of the PlayStation 5 (PS5) to 74.9 million units. During the December quarter alone, Sony sold 9.5 million PS5 units, up from 8.2 million units in the same period the previous year. This surge in sales has contributed to a 37% rise in operating profit for Sony's gaming business, fueled by higher sales in network services, hardware, and third-party software.
Sony's financial outlook remains optimistic, with expectations for full-year sales to reach 13.2 trillion yen, a 4% increase from its November forecast. This positive trajectory is supported by the company's announcement on Thursday of raising its annual operating profit outlook to 1.34 trillion yen ($876 billion), reflecting a 2% increase from the prior financial year. Furthermore, Sony's operating income for the December quarter rose by 1% to 469.3 billion yen.
Damian Thong, Macquarie Capital's head of Japan equity research and senior research analyst for the technology sector, commented on Sony's recent market performance. He believes that Sony's stock has "some ways" to advance, noting that it has appeared "rather cheap over the last few months" compared to its peers like Nintendo, which has experienced a strong run. Thong also expressed optimism about the future outlook for Sony's gaming division leading up to 2025.
"rather cheap over the last few months" – Damian Thong