Sony launches pricier PS5

Article Excerpt

SONY GROUP CORP. ADRs $96 is a hold. The Japanese conglomerate (New York symbol SONY; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $124.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) sold 2.4 million of PlayStation 5 video game consoles in its fiscal 2025 first quarter, ended June 30, 2024. That’s down 27.3% from 3.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. Sales should rebound as Sony will soon launch a faster version of this machine called PlayStation 5 Pro, which is 45% faster than the current model. However, the new version costs $200 more, which could hurt its appeal with cost-conscious consumers. It’s also $100 more than Microsoft’s recently upgraded Xbox game player. Meantime, Sony’s earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025 will probably rise 13% to $5.90 per ADR (each American Despositary Receipt is equal to one common share). The stock trades at 16.3 times that forecast. The $0.56 dividend yields 0.6%. Sony is a..