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Sony hikes its gaming outlook as the PS5 hits 75 million total sales

Shares are up nearly 5% on the gaming giant’s strong quarterly results and higher forecasts.

2/13/25 9:18AM

Despite three years of supply issues at the start of its life cycle and increased competition, Sony’s PlayStation 5 is still hot on the heels of the sales pace set by its wildly popular PS4.

Sony released its latest earnings report Thursday, and its gaming revenue climbed 16% to $10.9 billion. Gaming profit surged 37%.

Sony also logged a strong performance from its music business and posted consolidated revenue of $28.6 billion, up 18% from last year. It raised its full-year games and music profit forecasts, propelling shares up nearly 5% in premarket trading.

Sony’s PS5 sold 9.5 million units on the holiday quarter — the first to include its souped-up $700 PS5 Pro, which hit shelves in November. That’s the PS5’s best quarter ever, up about 16% from last year’s holiday season. It brings the PS5’s lifetime total to 75 million units sold.

Though it’s still falling short of the PS4 (the No. 5 bestselling console of all time) at the same point in its life cycle, the quarter brings the PS5’s 2024 calendar year sales to 20.2 million units. That’s more than this year’s combined sales of both the Nintendo Switch (11.5 million units) and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles (roughly 5 million units per estimates).

Sony probably doesn’t have much to worry about with the upcoming Switch 2, due for a release later this year. Most Switch owners, at least in the US, also own one of the higher-powered console offerings from Sony and Microsoft.

Sony is trying to capitalize on its gaming success with a larger push toward movies and shows based on gaming IP. At CES this year, the company said it’s developing movies based on “Helldivers 2” and “Horizon Zero Dawn.” It also has a “God of War” show in the works with Amazon and anime adaptations of other franchises.

It was a rocky year for gaming, but Sony came out better than most despite PlayStation sitting out the 2024-25 fiscal year and not releasing any new installments of its major franchises. This year — PlayStation’s 30th anniversary — looks to be better.

Sony plans to release a sequel to “Ghost of Tsushima,” which, as of September, has sold 13 million copies. Other major third-party franchises (“GTA 6” and “Monster Hunter”) are also expected to move consoles for the entertainment giant.

Entertainment has become Sony’s primary business. It accounted for 60% of the company’s sales last fiscal year, doubling its share from a decade ago.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”