On Thursday, PlayStation parent Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY) reported fiscal third-quarter 2024 consolidated sales growth of 18% year-on-year to $28.97 billion (4.41 trillion Japanese yen), topping the analyst consensus estimate of $23.78 billion. 

EPS of $0.41 (61.82 yen) beat the analyst consensus estimate of $0.30.

Segments & Profits: Game & Network Services (G&NS) revenue increased 16% year over year to ¥1.68 trillion, and operating income climbed 37% year over year to ¥118.1 billion.

Also Read: Nintendo Q3 Revenue Drops, Cuts Outlook and Dividend, Switch Sales Slow Ahead of Next-Gen Console

Higher sales of non-first-party game software titles, sales from network services, and hardware sales drove the growth.

Music revenue rose 14% year over year to ¥481.7 billion, and operating income increased by 28% year over year to ¥97.4 billion. Higher revenues from streaming services in Recorded Music and Music Publishing and the consolidation of Plus Inc. in Visual Media & Platform drove the growth.

Pictures revenue increased by 9% year over year to ¥398.2 billion due to higher revenue from theatrical releases, the acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and higher revenues for Crunchyroll, mainly due to paid subscriber growth.

Operating income declined by 18% year over year to ¥34.0 billion due to higher marketing costs for theatrical releases. Entertainment, Technology & Services (ET&S) revenue declined by 4% year over year to ¥704.5 billion, and operating income remained flat year over year at ¥77.1 billion due to a decrease in television sales. 

Imaging & Sensing Solutions revenue (I&SS) was flat year over year at ¥500.9 billion, and operating income declined 2% year over year to ¥97.5 billion. The decline was due to a decrease in sales of image sensors for mobile products.

Financial Services revenue grew 130% year over year to ¥718.5 billion, driven by Sony Life. Operating income decreased by 40% year over year to ¥46.4 billion.

Consolidated operating income rose by 1% year over year to ¥469.3 billion. The net income grew 3% year over year to ¥373.7 billion.

Sony sold 9.5 million PS5 units in the quarter versus 8.2 million a year ago.

It held ¥2.49 trillion in cash and equivalents as of December end.

Outlook: Sony expects fiscal 2024 sales of $88.00 billion or ¥13.20 trillion (prior $87.05 billion or ¥12.71 trillion) versus the $81.59 billion consensus. 

Sony Group stock surged 16% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock through Avantis International Equity ETF AVDE and Avantis International Large Cap Value ETF AVIV.

Price Action: SONY stock traded higher by 6.99% at $23.51 at last check Thursday.

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