Sony Profit Jumped 45% on Spider-Man and PlayStation, and It Raised Its Full-Year Outlook

Sony's operating profit jumped 45% in the September quarter, well ahead of estimates, and the company raised its full-year profit forecast.

Operating profit reached 622.3 billion yen for the three months ended September 30, Sony reported on Thursday in Tokyo. That was well above the average estimate of 505 billion yen from 12 analysts polled by LSEG, according to Reuters.

Sales rose 10% to 3.43 trillion yen, a second-quarter record, Sony said. Net income attributable to Sony's stockholders rose to 449.6 billion yen, topping the 349 billion yen estimate in a Visible Alpha poll reported by Dow Jones Newswires.

The 44% net-income increase is measured against continuing operations. The year-ago quarter still included the financial business Sony spun off in October 2025.

A film did the heaviest lifting

Pictures sales jumped 48% to 513.7 billion yen, and the segment's operating income rose to 92.6 billion yen, roughly seven times a year earlier and a second-quarter record, Chief Financial Officer Lin Tao said.

"Spider-Man: Brand New Day," released in July, has taken in more than $2.5 billion worldwide, Sony said. The company called it the highest-grossing film ever in North America and the third-highest worldwide.

The hit reached beyond cinemas. Unit sales of related game titles roughly doubled after the release, and songs from the film released by Sony's music arm passed one billion streams, Tao said.

Sony raised the Pictures segment's full-year operating income forecast by 33% to 200 billion yen, citing theatrical releases. Its next test is "Jumanji: Open World," due in December.

PlayStation profit no longer needs the console

Game & Network Services - the PlayStation business - lifted sales 9% to 1.21 trillion yen. Its operating income rose 83% to 220.1 billion yen, a second-quarter record.

That growth rate flatters the business. Excluding 49.8 billion yen of one-time losses booked a year earlier, segment operating income rose 29%, Tao said.

The engine was software and services, not hardware. Sony sold 2.6 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the quarter, down from 4.0 million a year earlier, while monthly active users across the platform hit a September-record 127 million accounts, up 7%.

"Marvel's Wolverine," released in September, sold more than 2.4 million copies and contributed to the segment's results, Sony said. The company raised the segment's full-year sales forecast 6% to 4.83 trillion yen on stronger third-party software and network services.

Sensors and music set records of their own

Imaging & Sensing Solutions - the image-sensor business - grew operating income 12% to 154.6 billion yen, a quarterly record, even as sales fell 6% to 577.6 billion yen. Sony said smartphone-market growth fell about 20% as memory-chip conditions weighed, with high-end demand holding up better.

Music sales rose 10% to 598.4 billion yen, and operating income rose 6% to 122.8 billion yen, a second-quarter record, on higher streaming revenue. Sony raised the segment's full-year profit forecast 6% to 445 billion yen.

One drag sat below the segments. Sony booked an additional loss of about 30 billion yen in the quarter on Sony Honda Mobility, its car venture, which Tao said substantially completed the loss recognition tied to downsizing that business.

The forecast rose across the board

Sony now expects sales of 13 trillion yen for the year ending in March, up 4% from its previous forecast. It raised its operating income forecast 9% to 1.87 trillion yen and its net income forecast 10% to 1.33 trillion yen.

It is the second upward revision this fiscal year, after a first raise in July. The interim dividend rises to 17.50 yen a share from 12.50 yen a year earlier.

Tao offered one caution against reading the first half too cleanly. Part of the profit, she said, came from U.S. tariff refunds and demand brought forward into the half.

"We've been investing in entertainment for a long time, and we are finally producing big hits every year," Tao said, in remarks reported by Dow Jones Newswires. "We are now entering a stage where we can expect to roll out IP across multiple fronts."

The share move came before the numbers

Sony's shares closed up 7% in Tokyo on Thursday ahead of the earnings release, Reuters reported. The results were disclosed after the Tokyo close, so that move is anticipation, not a verdict on the print.

The first full U.S. reaction arrives with Thursday's regular session in Sony's American depositary shares.

What remains unknown

Memory-chip prices are the largest open cost question. Sony said in July it had secured the memory needed for this year's planned PlayStation volume, and Tao said quantities for next year's projected hardware sales have been aligned with suppliers - but not the price Sony will pay.

Whether "Grand Theft Auto VI," launching November 19, pulls console sales with it is unproven. Sony expects the release to support the games business in the holiday quarter; the September quarter showed engagement rising even as hardware fell.

The Pictures slate after Spider-Man is thinner evidence. One record film drove the segment's forecast raise, and the follow-through depends on releases that have not opened yet.

Sensor demand depends on a smartphone market Sony itself described as weakening. The high-end held up this quarter; Sony said it is watching memory-driven price rises on premium phones before judging demand.

What to watch next

Watch the November 19 launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" and the holiday quarter's PlayStation engagement and hardware numbers, the segment's biggest near-term test.

Watch Thursday's U.S. session for the first settled reaction in Sony's listed shares, and the third-quarter print in February for whether the raised forecasts survive the memory-cost squeeze.

Watch the December opening of "Jumanji: Open World." It is the first theatrical test of the Pictures forecast that Spider-Man built.