Today, Sony’s shares have surged after the Japanese conglomerate revealed a share buyback of more than $1 billion and a partnership with Microsoft.
CNBC reports that by the end of the trading day in Tokyo, Sony’s stock has surged by 9.89%, hitting some levels not seen since back in December 2018.
This boost came right after the company’s Thursday announcement that it would buy back up to 4.8% of the total number of shares issued — worth up to 200 billion yen (approx. $1.82 billion).
The buyback period is scheduled from today, May 17, 2019, to March 31, 2020.
“The company is now able to both invest in growth and provide shareholder returns as the level of free cash flow created from businesses increases, and this gives a favorable impression,” Yu Okazaki, Nomura analyst notes.
Sony teams up with Microsoft
Sony also revealed a brand new partnership with rival Microsoft just the other day. Sony is set to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud services for streaming media and games.
CNBC noted that an analyst has called this partnership a massive development for the competitive dynamic of the video game industry.
“Recent announcements and market acquisitions from Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Tencent highlight that the next competitive dynamic of the games sector is centered on the cloud,” according to Piers Harding-Rolls, director and head of games research at IHS Markit.
The partnership will have effects in the long term
The online publication mentioned above highlights that this deal is only in its early stages, and there are a lot of details that have to be settled.
It’s a known fact that Sony and Microsoft, together with Nintendo as well have been dominating the video game console industry.
Harding-Rolls said that this partnership would not see a considerable impact on the short term, and the long run is much more attractive according to his opinion.
After finishing Theatrical Journalism at the Faculty of Theatre and Television in Cluj-Napoca, Rada reviewed movies, books, theatre pieces and she also wrote articles from the IT niche as a content editor for software producers. At the moment, she is working with various online advertising firms.
