Mario poses at the “SUPER NINTENDO WORLD” welcome celebration at Universal Studios Hollywood on February 16, 2023 in Universal City, California.
Rodin Eckenroth | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Nintendo on Tuesday reported quarterly profit that beat market estimates and said it sold more units of its Switch than it had forecast, as the firm continues to see momentum for its ageing flagship console.
Here’s how Nintendo did in its fiscal fourth quarter versus LSEG estimates:
- Revenue: 277.1 billion Japanese yen ($1.8 billion) versus 280.6 billion yen expected.
- Net profit: 82.6 billion yen versus 57.2 billion yen expected.
Fiscal fourth quarter revenue fell nearly 10% year-on-year while net profit dropped 4.5%.
Earlier this year, Nintendo hiked its forecast for sales of its flagship Switch console to 15.5 million units in its fiscal year ended March. The company beat its expectations, selling 15.7 million units of the Switch in the fiscal year.
The company said it expects to sell 13.5 million Switch consoles in the fiscal year ended March 2025.
For the full fiscal year ended March 2024, Nintendo said sales totaled 1.7 trillion yen, beating analyst estimates. That’s a 4.4% year-on-year rise. Net profit came in at 490.6 billion yen, beating market estimates, and up 13.4% year-on-year.
Investors have been focused on any comments from Nintendo regarding a successor to the Switch, which is now more than seven years old. Analysts told CNBC earlier this year that they expect a Switch 2 to be launched in 2024, though Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the new console.
The Japanese gaming giant has managed to extend the life of the current Switch thanks to the release of the “Super Mario Bros. Movie” and the flagship Zelda game last year, which boosted interest in the console and related games.
“The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom” and “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” were among Nintendo’s top-selling games for the fiscal year. However, Nintendo’s games pipeline for this year remains thin.
For the fiscal year ended March 2025, Nintendo forecast net sales of 1.35 trillion yen and net profit of 300 billion yen. That was much lower than what analysts had forecast, according to LSEG estimates. Nintendo’s forecast represents a 39% year-on-year fall in profit.