SONY's Q3 Earnings & Revenues Up Y/Y, View Raised on Market Demand

Core Viewpoint - Sony Group Corporation reported strong financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2024, with notable increases in net income and total revenues, driven by growth in several key segments [1][2]. Financial Performance - The net income per share on a GAAP basis was ¥61.82 (41 cents), an increase from ¥58.96 in the same quarter last year, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 29 cents [1]. - Adjusted net income rose to ¥373.7 billion from ¥363.9 billion year-over-year [1]. - Total revenues increased by 18% year-over-year to ¥4,409.6 billion ($29 billion), exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $24.3 billion [2]. Segment Performance - Game & Network Services (G&NS) sales grew by 16% year-over-year to ¥1,682.3 billion, driven by higher hardware revenues and increased non-first-party game software sales [5]. - Music sales improved by 14% year-over-year to ¥481.7 billion, supported by higher revenues from streaming services [6]. - Pictures sales increased by 9% year-over-year to ¥398.2 billion, aided by strong theatrical releases and subscriber growth for Crunchyroll [7]. - Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) sales decreased by 4% year-over-year to ¥704.5 billion due to lower television sales [8]. - Imaging & Sensing Solutions (I&SS) sales remained flat at ¥500.9 billion, impacted by soft sales of image sensors [10]. - Financial Services sales surged by 130% year-over-year to ¥718.5 billion, driven by significant revenue growth at Sony Life [11]. - All Other sales rose by 8% to ¥25.8 billion, although operating loss was reported [12]. Outlook and Guidance - Sony revised its fiscal year 2025 sales forecast to ¥13,200 billion, up from ¥12,710 billion, primarily due to growth in Financial Services and G&NS [3]. - Updated revenue expectations for I&SS and Music segments are ¥1,790 billion each, with net income now estimated at ¥1,080 billion [15]. Stock Performance - Shares of Sony increased by 5% in premarket trading, with a 16.6% gain over the past year, outperforming the Audio Video Production industry, which rose by 12.9% [4].