Sony projects an 11% rise in annual operating profit to 1.6 trillion yen, but its gaming division faces a 6% sales decline due to lower hardware sales and surging memory-chip prices.
The PlayStation maker, praised for its entertainment pivot, sees shares pressured by AI concerns and growth worries. A memory-chip price surge and supply chain disruptions from the Iran war also impact margins at Sony and Nintendo.
Despite lower hardware sales, gaming profit is expected to rise 30% to 137 billion yen, driven by higher first-party software sales and the absence of a prior impairment loss.
PS5 hardware sales hinge on securing memory at "reasonable prices." Sony sold 16 million units last year, down 14%.
The upcoming launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" in November is expected to boost the platform significantly, benefiting Sony's high-margin software sales.
Sony's full-year operating profit rose 13.4% to 1.45 trillion yen, missing estimates.