The game and “Spider-Man 4” went hand in hand, and Sony (SONY.US) Q2 operating profit increased 45% above expectations, raising full-year profit guidelines

The Zhitong Finance App learned that before the US stock market on November 5, Sony Group (SONY.US) announced the results for the second quarter of the 2026 fiscal year. Thanks to the strong performance of the game and video businesses, operating profit for the second fiscal quarter increased 45% to 622.3 billion yen (approximately US$3.95 billion), exceeding market expectations.

Financial reports show that the company's Q2 revenue was 34,29.4 billion yen, up 10.3% year on year; net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was 449.6 billion yen, up 24.2% year on year.

Excluding profits that had already been divested from the financial business in the same period last year, the year-on-year increase was 44.4% in line with continuing operations. The first half of the year had cumulative revenue of 6267.2 billion yen (+9.4%), operating profit of 1,098.8 billion yen (+42.9%), and diluted earnings per share of 134.30 yen.

In terms of segment performance, games and online services were the biggest profit engine, with operating profit of 220.1 billion yen, a year-on-year increase of 82.9%; the film and television business operating profit was 92.6 billion yen, an increase of more than fivefold over 13.9 billion yen in the same period last year, and revenue increased 48.4% year over year. The hit film “Spider-Man: A Brand New Day” was an important contributor to film and television performance. The operating profit of the music business was 122.8 billion yen, up 6.4%; the operating profit of imaging and sensing solutions was 154.6 billion yen, up 11.8%, but due to the impact of the image sensor market, revenue declined 5.1% year over year.

The company simultaneously raised its full-year guidance for FY2026: revenue forecast of 13 trillion yen (+4.2%), operating profit of 1.87 trillion yen (+29.2%), net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company of 1.33 trillion yen (+29.0%), and the full-year profit forecast increased by about 9% from the previous year. In terms of dividends, the mid-term dividend for the first half of the year is 17.50 yen per share, and the full year is expected to be 35.00 yen per share, an increase of 40% over the previous year.

Looking ahead to the market, Sony's gaming business is expected to be the main beneficiary of “GTA 6,” which went on sale on November 19, but the company is also facing pressure from rising memory chip prices driven by the AI boom. This cost pressure is plaguing the entire consumer electronics industry. Apple (AAPL.US) also warned of pressure on profit margins during the holiday season this week.