Sony shares hit highest price in almost 25 years 

Sony’s share price hit an all-time record high on Wednesday, with the stock market closing at 3,398 yen. This beats the Japanese electronics giant’s previous record high of 3,390 yen from March 2000, which was driven by the tech boom and the PS2’s initial launch in Japan. The renewed investor confidence this winter is likely a result of growing anticipation for Sony’s game, anime and other entertainment related businesses (source: Nikkei). 

Just yesterday, Sony confirmed its intent to buy Japanese publishing giant Kadokawa. Rumors of the buyout had already been driving up both Kadokawa and Sony shares, but the confirmation seems to have provided an extra boost of confidence to investors. If Sony succeeds in acquiring Kadokawa, this would not only make it the owner of game companies like Spike Chunsoft and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, but Kadokawa’s original IPs would make Sony one of the biggest players in Japan’s anime industry.  

Investor optimism also comes from confidence in the future of PlayStation – Sony’s gaming sector saw a huge 184% increase in profit this last quarter thanks to revenue from PS Plus, and the strong performance of first-party titles like Astro Bot and third-party games such as Black Myth: Wukong. Sony also reported improved hardware profitability, with PS5 sales on track to meet annual forecasts. There are also big games on the horizon like Sega’s Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Capcom’s Monster Hunter Wilds (both coming in February 2025), and the first-party Ghost of Yotei (slated for 2025).  

This is in stark contrast to November 2012, when Sony’s stock price plummeted to a mere 154 yen, its lowest point since 1978. This was driven by a lack of confidence in the Japanese electronics giant due to a record annual loss of 456 billion yen, plus its declining TV business, rising costs, and lower sales of PS3s and digital cameras (source: Sony Group Annual Report 2012).  

However, since those dark days, Sony’s share price has climbed gradually. In December 2024, Sony shares are now worth 22 times what they were in November 2012. On December 11, Sony’s stock price peaked at 3,398 yen. As of today, the value is continuing to rise, with the share price reaching 3,477 yen at 1:45pm (JST) on December 12.