We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
SONY's Q4 revenue rose 8% to 3,036.4B yen, but GAAP EPS slid to 13.93 yen.
SONY saw Music 21.1% sales and big profit gains, while G&NS income fell 41.6%.
SONY launched a 500B yen buyback plan and lifted FY2026 dividend target to 35/share yen.
Sony Group Corporation (SONY - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 net income per share (on a GAAP basis) of ¥13.93, down from ¥37.04 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income came in at ¥83.1 billion compared with ¥224.4 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Quarterly total revenues rose 8% year over year to ¥3,036.4 billion. The upside reflected solid top-line momentum in Music, Pictures, Entertainment, Technology &Services (ET&S) and Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS), offset by weaker sales in Game & Network Services (G&NS) and sizable losses in All Other.
SONY’s revenue growth was supported by broad-based gains outside gaming. Music sales increased 21.1% year over year to ¥570 billion, while Pictures revenue rose 14.1% to ¥472.9 billion and I&SS climbed 28.2% to ¥524.4 billion.
Sony Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Profitability was uneven. Music operating income surged to ¥132.4 billion from ¥83.6 billion, but G&NS operating income fell to ¥54.1 billion from ¥92.7 billion. All Other posted an operating loss of ¥67.6 billion, considerably wider than the ¥9.8 billion loss reported in the prior-year quarter.
Sony’s Gaming Business Saw Profit Pressure Despite Engagement
Sony’s G&NS segment reported a 2.7% decline in quarterly sales to ¥1,022.4 billion, reflecting weaker hardware trends. The segment’s operating income drop of 41.6% highlighted the earnings sensitivity of the platform when hardware volumes soften and one-time charges flow through.
Still, user metrics underscored healthy platform activity. For the full year, Monthly Active Users reached 125 million accounts in March, a record high for a fiscal fourth quarter, and total play time increased 1% year over year. Those engagement levels remain an important indicator for recurring network services revenue.
SONY’s Music Delivered a Strong Profit Upswing
SONY’s Music segment was a clear bright spot in the quarter, combining a 21.1% revenue increase with a 58.4% jump in operating income. The results aligned with the segment’s broader full-year strength, as fiscal 2025 Music sales rose 15.1% to ¥2,120.1 billion and operating income increased 25.1% to ¥447 billion.
Sony’s Music performance in fiscal 2025 was helped by higher revenues from streaming services across Recorded Music and Music Publishing, alongside stronger live events, merchandising and Visual Media & Platform contributions. The segment’s resilience stood out as one of the steadier profit engines in the company’s portfolio.
Sony’s Pictures Growth Came With Margin Headwinds
Sony’s Pictures segment generated quarterly revenue of ¥472.9 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Despite the higher sales base, operating income slipped 22.4% to ¥41.5 billion, pointing to higher costs and profitability headwinds even as revenue improved.
On a full-year basis, Pictures sales were essentially flat at ¥1,499.3 billion, while operating income declined 10.6% to ¥104.9 billion. Sony attributed the fiscal-year pressure to impairment losses tied to Pixomondo’s VFX and virtual production business and related shutdown costs, partially offset by better contributions from catalog product and higher revenues from Crunchyroll.
SONY’s I&SS Strength Supported the Top Line, Not Q4 Profit
SONY’s I&SS segment continued to drive growth, with quarterly sales rising 28.2% to ¥524.4 billion. Full-year I&SS revenue advanced 19.6% to ¥2,151.5 billion, and operating income climbed 36.8% to ¥357.3 billion, reflecting higher mobile sensor sales, improved product mix and stronger unit volumes.
Quarterly profit did not fully track the sales gains. I&SS operating income edged down to ¥32.8 billion from ¥34.5 billion, suggesting that cost or mix factors weighed on near-term margins even as demand remained favorable.
Other Details
Operating income declined 24% to ¥163.5 billion, with operating margin contracting 230 basis points to 5.4%.
For the quarter under review, total costs and expenses were ¥2,807.1 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
SONY’s Cash Flow & Liquidity
In the 12 months ended on March 31, 2026, Sony generated ¥1,945.6 billion of cash from operating activities compared with ¥2,321.7 billion in the prior-year period.
As of March 31, 2026, the company had ¥2,208.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents with ¥990.8 million of long-term debt.
Sony’s FY2026 Outlook Implies Margin Expansion
Sony’s fiscal 2026 forecast suggests sales of ¥12,300 billion, down 1.4% year over year, while operating income is projected to rise 10.5% to ¥1,600 billion.
The company expects G&NS operating income to improve to ¥600 billion from ¥463.3 billion, reflecting the absence of prior-year impairment losses tied to Bungie and a richer first-party title mix, while Music operating income is forecast to decline to ¥400 billion from ¥447 billion.
Separately, Sony approved a share repurchase facility of up to 230 million shares for up to ¥500 billion, running from May 11, 2026, through May 10, 2027, and plans to cancel 184,494,319 treasury shares on May 29, 2026. The company also raised its planned annual dividend to ¥35 per share for fiscal 2026 from ¥25 per share in fiscal 2025.
Sonos, Inc. (SONO - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP loss per share of 2 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents. The company reported a loss of 18 cents in the prior-year quarter. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a loss per share of 24 cents compared with a loss of 58 cents in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenues increased 8.4% year over year to $281.5 million. The figure came above the company’s guidance of $250 million to $280 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the top line was pegged at $264.9 million.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (DLB - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.37 per share, which jumped 2.2% year over year and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.31, delivering a 4.58% surprise. Revenues of $396 million increased 7% from the year-ago quarter and beat the consensus mark of $380 million by 4.21%. The upside was driven by solid licensing performance, which remained the dominant revenue contributor. Strength across broadcast and continued adoption of Dolby technologies supported growth despite some timing-related softness in mobile.
Fortive Corporation (FTV - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 70 cents from continuing operations, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents. The bottom line increased 25.4% year over year. Revenues increased 7.7% year over year to $1069.4 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.8%. Core revenues jumped 5.3%.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
SONY's Q4 Earnings Plunge Y/Y Despite Healthy Revenues, G&NS Weakens
Key Takeaways
Sony Group Corporation (SONY - Free Report) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 net income per share (on a GAAP basis) of ¥13.93, down from ¥37.04 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income came in at ¥83.1 billion compared with ¥224.4 billion in the prior-year quarter.
Quarterly total revenues rose 8% year over year to ¥3,036.4 billion. The upside reflected solid top-line momentum in Music, Pictures, Entertainment, Technology &Services (ET&S) and Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS), offset by weaker sales in Game & Network Services (G&NS) and sizable losses in All Other.
In the past year, the stock has declined 18.7% compared with the Audio Video Production industry’s fall of 18.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
SONY’s Quarter Reflected Mixed Segment Profit Trends
SONY’s revenue growth was supported by broad-based gains outside gaming. Music sales increased 21.1% year over year to ¥570 billion, while Pictures revenue rose 14.1% to ¥472.9 billion and I&SS climbed 28.2% to ¥524.4 billion.
Sony Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Sony Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sony Corporation Quote
Profitability was uneven. Music operating income surged to ¥132.4 billion from ¥83.6 billion, but G&NS operating income fell to ¥54.1 billion from ¥92.7 billion. All Other posted an operating loss of ¥67.6 billion, considerably wider than the ¥9.8 billion loss reported in the prior-year quarter.
Sony’s Gaming Business Saw Profit Pressure Despite Engagement
Sony’s G&NS segment reported a 2.7% decline in quarterly sales to ¥1,022.4 billion, reflecting weaker hardware trends. The segment’s operating income drop of 41.6% highlighted the earnings sensitivity of the platform when hardware volumes soften and one-time charges flow through.
Still, user metrics underscored healthy platform activity. For the full year, Monthly Active Users reached 125 million accounts in March, a record high for a fiscal fourth quarter, and total play time increased 1% year over year. Those engagement levels remain an important indicator for recurring network services revenue.
SONY’s Music Delivered a Strong Profit Upswing
SONY’s Music segment was a clear bright spot in the quarter, combining a 21.1% revenue increase with a 58.4% jump in operating income. The results aligned with the segment’s broader full-year strength, as fiscal 2025 Music sales rose 15.1% to ¥2,120.1 billion and operating income increased 25.1% to ¥447 billion.
Sony’s Music performance in fiscal 2025 was helped by higher revenues from streaming services across Recorded Music and Music Publishing, alongside stronger live events, merchandising and Visual Media & Platform contributions. The segment’s resilience stood out as one of the steadier profit engines in the company’s portfolio.
Sony’s Pictures Growth Came With Margin Headwinds
Sony’s Pictures segment generated quarterly revenue of ¥472.9 billion, up 14.1% year over year. Despite the higher sales base, operating income slipped 22.4% to ¥41.5 billion, pointing to higher costs and profitability headwinds even as revenue improved.
On a full-year basis, Pictures sales were essentially flat at ¥1,499.3 billion, while operating income declined 10.6% to ¥104.9 billion. Sony attributed the fiscal-year pressure to impairment losses tied to Pixomondo’s VFX and virtual production business and related shutdown costs, partially offset by better contributions from catalog product and higher revenues from Crunchyroll.
SONY’s I&SS Strength Supported the Top Line, Not Q4 Profit
SONY’s I&SS segment continued to drive growth, with quarterly sales rising 28.2% to ¥524.4 billion. Full-year I&SS revenue advanced 19.6% to ¥2,151.5 billion, and operating income climbed 36.8% to ¥357.3 billion, reflecting higher mobile sensor sales, improved product mix and stronger unit volumes.
Quarterly profit did not fully track the sales gains. I&SS operating income edged down to ¥32.8 billion from ¥34.5 billion, suggesting that cost or mix factors weighed on near-term margins even as demand remained favorable.
Other Details
Operating income declined 24% to ¥163.5 billion, with operating margin contracting 230 basis points to 5.4%.
For the quarter under review, total costs and expenses were ¥2,807.1 billion, up 7.8% year over year.
SONY’s Cash Flow & Liquidity
In the 12 months ended on March 31, 2026, Sony generated ¥1,945.6 billion of cash from operating activities compared with ¥2,321.7 billion in the prior-year period.
As of March 31, 2026, the company had ¥2,208.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents with ¥990.8 million of long-term debt.
Sony’s FY2026 Outlook Implies Margin Expansion
Sony’s fiscal 2026 forecast suggests sales of ¥12,300 billion, down 1.4% year over year, while operating income is projected to rise 10.5% to ¥1,600 billion.
The company expects G&NS operating income to improve to ¥600 billion from ¥463.3 billion, reflecting the absence of prior-year impairment losses tied to Bungie and a richer first-party title mix, while Music operating income is forecast to decline to ¥400 billion from ¥447 billion.
Separately, Sony approved a share repurchase facility of up to 230 million shares for up to ¥500 billion, running from May 11, 2026, through May 10, 2027, and plans to cancel 184,494,319 treasury shares on May 29, 2026. The company also raised its planned annual dividend to ¥35 per share for fiscal 2026 from ¥25 per share in fiscal 2025.
SONY’s Zacks Rank
Sony currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Recent Performance of Other Firms
Sonos, Inc. (SONO - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP loss per share of 2 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 4 cents. The company reported a loss of 18 cents in the prior-year quarter. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a loss per share of 24 cents compared with a loss of 58 cents in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenues increased 8.4% year over year to $281.5 million. The figure came above the company’s guidance of $250 million to $280 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the top line was pegged at $264.9 million.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (DLB - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $1.37 per share, which jumped 2.2% year over year and topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.31, delivering a 4.58% surprise. Revenues of $396 million increased 7% from the year-ago quarter and beat the consensus mark of $380 million by 4.21%. The upside was driven by solid licensing performance, which remained the dominant revenue contributor. Strength across broadcast and continued adoption of Dolby technologies supported growth despite some timing-related softness in mobile.
Fortive Corporation (FTV - Free Report) reported first-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 70 cents from continuing operations, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 64 cents. The bottom line increased 25.4% year over year. Revenues increased 7.7% year over year to $1069.4 million. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.8%. Core revenues jumped 5.3%.