SONY Q3 Earnings & Sales Up Y/Y on I&SS Momentum, FY25 Outlook Raised

Sony Group Corporation SONY reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 net income per share (on a GAAP basis) of ¥62.82, up from ¥56.42 in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted net income came in at ¥377.3 billion compared with ¥341.1 billion in the prior-year quarter.

Quarterly total revenues inched up 1% year over year to ¥3,713.7 billion. Weak sales in the Game & Network Services (G&NS), Pictures and Entertainment, and Technology & Services (ET&S) segments slowed growth, offset by expanding customer traction in the Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) and Music segments.

Sony has revised its fiscal 2025 forecast. It now expects sales of ¥12,300 billion, up from the previous guidance of ¥12,000 billion. The primary factor behind the elevation is expected strength in the G&NS and I&SS divisions, led by favorable forex movements. For G&NS, revenues are now expected to be ¥4,630 billion, up from the earlier projection of ¥4,470 billion, while for I&SS, net sales are now estimated at ¥2,080 billion, up from ¥1,990 billion earlier.

In the past year, the stock has declined 4.4% compared with the Audio Video Production industry’s fall of 5.4%.

Q3 Segmental Results

In the quarter under review, G&NS sales were down 4% year over year to ¥1,613.6 billion, affected by lower hardware unit sales, partly offset by a positive foreign-exchange impact. Operating income rose 19% year over year to ¥140.8 billion, driven by the positive impact from increased sales in network services and growth in non-first-party game software sales amid FX tailwinds. User engagement remained strong in the quarter, with Monthly Active Users hitting a record 132 million in December and total gameplay hours rising year over year.

Music sales improved 13% year over year to ¥542.4 billion in the fiscal third quarter on the back of stronger live events and merchandising, along with higher streaming revenues in Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Operating income rose to ¥106.4 billion from ¥97.4 billion in the same quarter last year.

Pictures’ sales declined 11% year over year to ¥353.3 billion, affected by lower revenues from theatrical releases and in Motion Pictures during the year. Operating income declined 9% year over year to ¥30.9 billion, as lower sales were partly offset by reduced marketing expenses for theatrical releases.

ET&S sales totaled ¥658.1 billion, down 7% year over year, owing to a fall in unit sales of displays. Operating income decreased 23% to ¥59.4 billion, mainly due to lower sales in Displays, partially offset by reductions in operating expenses.

Sony Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Sony Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Sony Corporation Quote

I&SS sales rose 21% year over year to ¥604.3 billion, owing to an increase in sales of image sensors for mobile products. Higher unit sales, coupled with a favorable product mix and the positive impact of the forex movement, acted as other catalysts. Operating income was ¥132 billion compared with ¥97.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, owing to higher sales and favorable forex impact.

All Other sales were nearly flat year over year at ¥25.4 billion in the fiscal third quarter. Operating income was ¥0.8 billion against a loss of ¥3 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Other Details

For the quarter under review, total costs and expenses were ¥3,203.6 billion, down 1.9% year over year. Operating income was ¥515 billion, rising 22%.

SONY’s Cash Flow & Liquidity

For the nine months ended on Dec. 31, 2025, Sony generated ¥1,353.3 billion of cash from operating activities compared with ¥1,624 billion in the prior-year period.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the company had ¥2,086.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents with ¥976.3 billion of net long-term debt.

Upbeat FY25 Guidance by SONY

For fiscal 2025, operating income guidance has been raised to ¥1,540 billion from ¥1,430 billion after accounting for tariff impacts, driven by higher profits in the Music segment and a reduction in the estimated tariff impact.

Net income is now estimated to be ¥1,130 billion compared with the prior view of ¥1,050 billion.

For Music, revenues are now estimated at ¥2,050 billion compared with the earlier forecast of ¥1,980 billion.

Outlook for the ET&S and Pictures segments remains unchanged from the prior view.

SONY’s Zacks Rank

Sony currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Performance of Other Companies

Sonos, Inc. SONO reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of 93 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 81 cents. The company reported EPS of 68 cents in the prior-year quarter. Quarterly revenues decreased marginally by 0.9% year over year to $545.7 million. However, the figure came near the high end of the company’s guidance of $510 million to $560 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the top line was pegged at $538.7 million.

Badger Meter, Inc. BMI reported EPS of $1.14 for fourth-quarter 2025, which missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. However, the bottom line compared favorably with the year-ago quarter’s EPS of $1.04. Quarterly net sales were $220.7 million, up 7.6% from $205.2 million in the year-ago quarter, driven by higher utility water sales. However, the metric missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $230.8 million.

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. DLB reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP EPS of $1.06, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents. It reported $1.14 in the prior-year quarter. Total revenues were $346.7 million, down from $357 million in the year-ago quarter but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2%. However, revenues came in above the high end of the previous guidance of $315 million to $345 million, primarily backed by deal closures occurring earlier than expected and a favorable $7 million true-up related to fourth-quarter shipments.

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