Sony profit jumps 45% on Spider-Man and raises full-year forecast

Operating profit beats expectations

Sony reported on 5 November 2026 that operating profit for the July-September quarter climbed 45% to 622.3 billion yen, ahead of analyst expectations. Revenue rose 10% to 3,429.4 billion yen, while net profit reached 449.6 billion yen, up from nearly 311 billion yen a year earlier. The company credited much of the gain to the box office run of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, although its games and music units also grew. Operating profit and sales rose in the games, music and pictures operations, and the company raised its outlook for the full year. Shares had closed 7% higher in Tokyo trading shortly before the results were published. A weaker yen also helped, with the dollar trading at about 158 yen against roughly 154 a year earlier, which lifts the yen value of overseas earnings.

Spider-Man carries the film division

Revenue at the film division rose 48% year on year in the second quarter, primarily because of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film has taken close to $2.5 billion worldwide, placing it among the biggest releases of all time. Sony is trying to persuade investors that its entertainment units can anchor a strategy of building global franchises across gaming, anime, film and music. Earlier successes cited in coverage include The Last of Us, adapted from a PlayStation game into an HBO drama, and the animated film Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Sony shares have risen more than a third from a low in June as investors bet on those entertainment businesses and on the gaming division. Financial Times analyst David Gibson of MST Financial reacted to the film results in these words:

“Spider-Man has been a massive hit and the market seriously underestimated just how well Sony's movies business would perform.”

Gibson added that gaming looked less exciting, although pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI could shift that view quickly.

Games sales hold up despite console shortages

Games revenue rose 9%, helped by higher sales of titles from Sony's own studios. Hardware was weaker, with 2.6 million PlayStation 5 consoles sold against 4 million a year earlier, and cumulative sales reached 97.9 million since the June 2020 launch. Like other technology companies, Sony faces a computer chip shortage linked to the artificial intelligence boom, which constrains hardware supply.

July-September 20254

July-September 20262.6

July-September 2025

4 million units

July-September 2026

2.6 million units

Data from the article text

Software sales climbed to 708.5 billion yen from 629.3 billion yen, and digital downloads made up 78% of full-game sales, up from 72%. Network services grew 19.5% to 218.3 billion yen. Marvel's Wolverine had sold 2.4 million copies as of 4 November, while Ghost of Yotei had reached 3.3 million units since its 2 October 2025 launch, according to Sony's most recent figures. Some retailers have turned to lottery systems for the PS5 Pro to side-step scalpers, and Sony reportedly told distribution partners that supply constraints would keep retailer stock tight until next year.

Raised forecast ahead of GTA VI

Sony now expects net profit of 1.3 trillion yen for the year through March 2027, up from an earlier 1.2 trillion yen and 1 trillion yen in the previous fiscal year. That is a 29% rise on the prior year, and the increase reflects the film and games divisions.

Previous forecast1,210

Raised forecast1,330

Previous forecast

1210 billion yen

Raised forecast

1330 billion yen

Data from the article text

Rival Nintendo's operating profit fell 16% in its second quarter, as the Switch 2 faced rising component costs and a shortage of big new games. Grand Theft Auto VI launches on 19 November 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, and reports put pre-orders at about $750 million. Bloomberg reported that Sony's shares had gained about 6% versus a month earlier, as investors looked for reassurance on longer-term earnings stability.