Sony Music Posts Record Q2 Operating Profit, Raises Full-Year Forecast

Rob Stringer

Sony is still making plenty of noise.

Revenue for the company’s music segment climbed 10.3% year over year to 598.4b yen, or $3.78b, in fiscal Q2, and operating income rose 6.4% to 122.8b yen ($775m), a record for the second quarter. Adjusted OIBDA increased 10.6% to 154.6b yen ($975m), prompting Sony to raise its full-year sales and operating income forecasts.

The Rob Stringer-led recorded music division led the charge, with revenue up 19.5% to 383b yen, or $2.42b. Music publishing grew 12.2% to 119b yen ($751m), while physical sales increased 16.5% to 32b yen ($202m). Streaming revenue, measured in U.S. dollars, rose more than 7% year over year in recorded music and nearly 6% in publishing.

Sony cited higher streaming, merchandising and live revenue as key contributors to the quarter’s performance. The company’s top recorded music sellers included ATEEZ, Michael Jackson, Ella Langley, Bad Bunny, SZA, Shakira, Beyoncé, Future and Peter Peter.

Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas,” which has surpassed 1.8b cumulative streams worldwide, has spent a total of 26 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record previously held by Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

The company also pointed to the post-biopic surge in Jackson’s catalog, which has generated more than 3b streams on Spotify’s Global Top 200 since January, compared to approximately 100m in calendar 2025.

Gen Z listeners accounted for about half of the increase, illustrating the role visual storytelling can play in introducing catalog music to new audiences. Sony noted that tracks released more than 18 months ago accounted for more than half of its streams on Spotify’s Global Top 200 through September.

Sony raised its full-year sales forecast by 5% to 2.3t yen, or $14.5b, and its operating income forecast by 6% to 44b yen, or $2.8b. The company also increased its full-year adjusted OIBDA forecast to 570b yen, or $3.6b, from 540b.

The upgraded outlook reflects expectations for higher streaming revenue in both recorded music and publishing, as well as increased revenue from live events and merchandising. The quarter’s operating income also benefited from higher streaming revenue, despite the absence of the theatrical hit Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, which contributed to the prior-year comparison.