Sony Shares Climb Following Major Buyback

(MENAFN) Shares of Sony Group jumped 3.67% on Wednesday following the company's announcement of a 250 billion yen ($1.7 billion) share repurchase.

The electronics and entertainment giant reported operating income of 203.6 billion yen ($1.39 billion) for the final quarter of its financial year, marking an 11% decline compared to the same period last year.

Sony also revealed plans for a partial spinoff of its financial services unit. As part of the move, the company aims to return slightly more than 80% of the new entity’s common stock to Sony Group shareholders through dividends.

The firm stated that the financial arm is expected to go public this year and will be treated as a discontinued operation in the current quarter’s financial reporting.

Looking ahead, Sony projects a modest 0.3% increase in operating profit to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.74 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2026. This forecast incorporates an estimated 100 billion yen ($683 million) in losses stemming from the ongoing trade conflict initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.

"The estimated impact from the series of changes in U.S. tariff policy at this time is reflected in the above forecasts for operating income, income before income taxes and net income attributable to Sony Group Corporation’s stockholders," Sony stated.

The company also cautioned that actual effects could vary widely, and the forecast does not factor in the recent trade agreement reached between the U.S. and China on Monday.

Under that accord, both nations agreed to a temporary 115% reduction in tariffs for a 90-day period. China’s tariff on U.S. goods will drop to 10%, while the U.S. will lower its tariff on Chinese goods to 30%.

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