Shortages hurt earnings outlook

Article Excerpt

SONY GROUP CORP. ADRs $82 is a hold. The Japanese conglomerate (New York symbol SONY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $106.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 0.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) reported 9.1% higher sales in its fiscal 2023 second quarter, ended September 30, 2022, to $19.19 billion from $18.25 billion a year earlier. Earnings per ADR also gained 15.7%, to $1.90 from $1.64 (each American Depositary Share represents one Sony common share). Those gains are largely due to stronger sales of PlayStation 5 video game consoles and chips for cameras and smartphones. However, component shortages continue to hinder PlayStation 5 production. As a result, its earnings for all of fiscal 2023 will probably fall 15% to $4.63 per ADR, and the stock trades at 17.1 times that forecast. The $0.27 dividend yields 0.3%. Sony is a hold. hold…