Nintendo Shares Climb 2.5% in Tokyo as Switch 2 Faces Holiday Test After Profit Jump Despite Slower Sales

TOKYO — Nintendo shares rose Friday in Tokyo, extending a rebound for the Japanese video game giant as investors look ahead to the holiday season, a key test for its Switch 2 console.

Nintendo closed at 8,773 yen, up 2.45%. That followed a 2.29% gain on Thursday, when the stock closed at 8,563 yen. Its market value is about 8.8 trillion yen.

The two-day gain gives some relief to shareholders after a difficult year. Nintendo's U.S.-traded American depositary receipts were down about 22% for 2026 as of this week, and the Tokyo shares remain well below their 52-week high of 13,985 yen.

Profit up, console sales down

Nintendo's latest results, released Nov. 5, showed a company earning more even as hardware sales slow.

For the six months ending Sept. 30, operating profit rose 49.1% to 216.5 billion yen, while net sales fell 12.1% to 966 billion yen. Net profit rose 11% to 220.9 billion yen.

"Although sales declined year-on-year due to lower hardware unit sales, operating profit rose," Nintendo said.

The profit gain came from a larger share of sales from higher-margin software, strong digital sales and a refund of U.S. tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Switch 2 hardware sales slowed sharply as the console moved past its launch period. Nintendo sold 6.49 million Switch 2 consoles in the first half, down 37.4% from 10.36 million a year earlier. Second-quarter sales fell to 2.67 million units.

Software was stronger. Switch 2 software sales rose 18.8% to 24.49 million units in the half. Digital sales reached 249.6 billion yen, up 60.5% from a year earlier.

Forecast unchanged

Nintendo kept its full-year outlook, including a target of 16.5 million Switch 2 consoles and 60 million software units for the year ending March 2027. It also kept its annual net profit forecast of 310 billion yen.

To meet the hardware target, Nintendo needs to sell about 10 million Switch 2 units between October and March. That puts heavy weight on holiday demand.

The company has said it has secured enough memory chips to support the forecast. Memory prices have soared because of the artificial intelligence boom. Nintendo raised the Switch 2's price this year, though it said further price changes are not under consideration.

Nintendo's forecast assumes about 100 billion yen in added costs from higher component prices, especially memory, and tariff measures.

Holiday lineup in focus

Some analysts have said the lack of a blockbuster game has held back Switch 2 sales. Nintendo is counting on a holiday lineup that includes Pikmin 4 – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, as well as third-party titles such as Monster Hunter Wilds.

Overseas markets remain central to the company. Nearly 79% of first-half sales came from outside Japan, with the Americas accounting for 43.4%.

Analysts remain broadly positive. Freedom Capital recently raised its price target to 9,400 yen from 8,700 yen, with a Buy rating.

Nintendo will next report results in February. Those figures will show whether holiday sales put the company on track to meet its full-year Switch 2 target.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.