Paul Dykewicz and Hilary Kramer
Sony may enhance shareholder value with strategic moves that could include pursuing partnership opportunities with Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and potentially suggestions made this month by New-York-based hedge fund Third Point.
Tokyo-based Sony Corporation ( NYSE: SNE) is a conglomerate that may be best known for its televisions and other consumer electronics products, but its greatest growth now comes from its Game & Network Services, which has become the company’s biggest segment. Game & Network Services sales rose 19 percent between fiscal year 2019, ended March 31, and the preceding fiscal year, primarily due to a jump in video game software sales and the number of subscribers for PlayStationPlus, a paid membership service.
The importance of Sony’s Game & Network Services unit is shown by the company’s overall 1 percent growth in sales and operating revenue between fiscal year 2019 and 2018 due to a significant decrease in sales of its Mobile Communications segment. Reduced forecasts for the smartphone business within the company’s Mobile Communications segment caused Sony to take an impairment charge against its earnings.
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Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce,Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulDykewicz.
