Sony Crushes Forecasts: 10% Profit Jump Spurs $648 Million Share Buyback and Boosted Outlook

Sony Group announced strong financial results for its second quarter. Operating profit climbed 10% from the previous year. This result of 429 billion yen beat analyst expectations. Revenue also rose 5% to 3.108 trillion yen. Following the announcement, Sony shares jumped over 6%.

The technology giant immediately announced a 100 billion yen ($648 million) share buyback. Sony also raised its full-year forecast. It expects operating profit to grow by another 8%. The company is seeing massive success in two areas.

First, its imaging and sensing solutions profit soared by nearly 50%. This makes it Sony’s most profitable segment. Second, the music business profit rose over 27%. Meanwhile, the PlayStation (Game and Network Services) division remains the top revenue driver. However, its profit dropped about 13% despite strong sales in digital games.

The Pictures business profit also fell, despite the huge success of the film “KPop Demon Hunters.” Sony produced the smash hit. But the company missed much of the profit because it sold exclusive rights to Netflix. Sony did secure a $15 million bonus for the film’s record performance, and a sequel is confirmed.