Beyonce, PlayStation games help Sony post a 10% jump in profits

Sony on Wednesday reported a 10% jump in operating profit in the fiscal first quarter, beating analyst expectations after seeing strong growth in its gaming, music and imaging chip businesses.

The Japanese technology giant's music division, in particular, got a boost during the quarter as the release of R&B star Beyonce's new "Cowboy Carter" album boosted its performance.

Here's how Sony did in the June quarter, versus LSEG consensus estimates:

In an earnings release Wednesday, Sony said that its first-quarter sales benefited from "significant increases" in game and network services, music, and imaging and sensing solutions.

Gaming, for which Sony is well-known thanks to its popular PlayStation consoles, banked revenues of 864.9 billion yen in the quarter, up 12% from 771.9 billion yen a year ago.

Meanwhile, Sony's music and imaging sensor divisions saw revenue jumps of 23% and 21%, respectively.

For full-year 2024, Sony revised its forecast upward saying it now expects to hit 12.6 billion yen of sales. That's up 2% from what the company was previously guiding.

Sony also upped its operating profit forecast by 3%, noting it expects to reach 1.3 trillion yen in consolidated operating profit for the full year.

Within the music division, Sony got a boost from newly released recorded music during the June quarter — including from U.S. singer Beyonce.

Sony name-dropped Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter," Future & Metro Boomin's "We Don't Trust You," and SZA's "SOS" as its top 10 best-selling recorded music projects for Sony Music Entertainment in the first quarter.

"Cowboy Carter," released in March, pays homage to Beyonce's home town, Houston, Texas. It is one of the biggest releases of 2024 so far, alongside Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets