SONY Set to Report Q4 Earnings: Key Takeaways for Investors

Sony Group Corporation SONY is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings on May 14.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 12 cents per share, indicating a decline of 42.9% from the year-ago reported figure. The consensus estimate for revenues is $20.4 billion, implying a fall of 13% from the prior-year actuals.

The company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 28.4%. In the past year, the stock has gained 62.2% compared with the Zacks Audio Video Production industry’s rise of 53.9%. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Factors to Note

Robust growth prospects in Sony’s Game & Network Services (GN&S), Music, Financial Services, and Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) divisions are likely to have driven the company’s top-line performance in the fiscal fourth quarter.

The G&NS segment, encompassing the PlayStation ecosystem, has been a significant revenue driver for Sony. The strength is expected to have been backed by a rise in hardware revenues due to higher unit sales, along with increased sales of non-first-party game software and add-on content with favorable forex impacts. In December 2024, active users rose 5% year over year to a record 129 million. PlayStation users' total playtime grew 2%, and PlayStation Plus revenues jumped 20%, boosted by more users choosing premium plans and price increases.

Sony's Music segment continues to build momentum, led by the proliferation of streaming services. Higher sales in the to-be-reported quarter are likely to have been driven by growing revenue from live events, merchandise and licensing in Recorded Music, along with increased streaming income in both Recorded Music and Music Publishing. Also, forex tailwinds are expected to have boosted its performance.

The company further plans to grow this division by expanding into emerging markets (Latin America, India and parts of Europe) where streaming is gaining popularity by leveraging digital music distribution and artist services provided by The Orchard and AWAL.

Sony Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Sony Corporation price-eps-surprise | Sony Corporation Quote

Healthy revenues from theatrical releases, synergy stemming from the acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and higher revenues for Crunchyroll due to paid subscribers are fueling the Pictures segment. Strong sales of image sensors for mobile devices cushion the I&SS business.

Strength at Sony Life, along with a positive impact from higher net gains on investments due to market volatility in both the general and separate accounts, is working in favor of the Financial Services unit.

However, a slowdown in television sales due to lower unit sales is likely to have weighed on Sony’s performance in the fiscal fourth quarter. Sony is reportedly in talks to increase the price of its PlayStation 5 console across Europe, Britain, Australia and New Zealand on the back of potential global macroeconomic challenges such as rising inflation rates and forex headwinds. This, along with tight competition in the consumer discretionary sector, might have affected its sales.

Key Recent Highlights

In April 2025, Sony and BandLab Technologies partnered to empower emerging artists by combining Sony's audio expertise with BandLab's music creation platform. As a first step, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio spatial sound technology is integrated into the BandLab app, allowing users worldwide to create and experience spatial audio using any standard headphones.

In March 2025, Sony unveiled a new RGB LED display system with independent color control and high-density backlight, offering vibrant color reproduction and subtle gradations. Equipped with proprietary backlight control technology, it delivers cinematic image quality that captures the creator’s intent, making it ideal for both film production and home viewing.

In February 2025, Sony unveiled the 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS (SEL400800G), its longest-range full-frame E-Mount lens, ideal for birding, wildlife, aerial and sports photographers.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for Sony this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is not the case here.

Earnings ESP: SONY has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: SONY currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Here are three other stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these, too, have the right elements to post an earnings beat in this reporting cycle.

Ralph Lauren RL has an Earnings ESP of +2.21% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. Ralph Lauren is set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on May 22.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues and earnings is pegged at $1.63 billion and $1.96 per share, respectively. Shares of RL have appreciated 8.9% year to date. 

Under Armour, Inc. UAA has an Earnings ESP of +29.41% and a Zacks Rank of #3 at present. It is set to report quarterly results on May 13.

The consensus estimate for Under Armour’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings is pegged at a loss of 9 cents per share. For Under Armour’s quarterly revenues, the consensus mark is pegged at $1.2 billion. UAA delivered an earnings surprise of 166.7% in the last quarter.

Dollar General Corporation DG currently has an Earnings ESP of +4.30% and a Zacks Rank #3. It is set to release its quarterly results on June 3.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DG’s first-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings per share is pegged at $1.46, and quarterly revenues are pegged at $10.26 billion. Dollar General has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 1.2%, on average.

 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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