Nintendo beats earnings thanks to US tariff refunds it won’t share with gamers
Nintendo has smashed its first-quarter earnings estimates for the fiscal year, bolstered by strong games sales and US tariff refunds, though its customers likely won’t receive anything from the latter. In its latest financial results, Nintendo reports that operating profits soared to 142.5 billion yen (about $902 million) between April 1st and June 30th, compared to 56.9 billion yen (about $360 million) for the same quarter last year — an increase of 150.5 percent.
This spike is partially attributed to a boom in game sales, with Switch 2 software sales increasing by 9.2 percent compared to the previous year, and software for the original Switch console increasing by 38.6 percent. Sales for the Switch 2 console itself fell from 5.82 million units to 3.82 million units over the same period, though that current figure is higher than the 2.49 million units Nintendo sold last quarter.
A sizable chunk of the boosted profit comes from refunds for US tariffs, with Nintendo saying it recorded “approximately $300 million as a reduction of cost of sales” for this quarter. While the company has increased the price of both Switch consoles over the last year, Nintendo says it bore the brunt of costs associated with tariffs instead of passing them over to consumers through increased product prices. That means it believes anyone who paid a higher price for their Switch console isn’t entitled to part of that tariff refund.
Nintendo is currently defending this argument in court, in a bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that it’s retaining tariff refunds despite passing those costs to its customers. Other gaming companies have faced a similar legal battle — Sony was also sued by customers in May, who alleged it saw a “double recovery windfall” by collecting tariff refunds after increasing PlayStation console prices.
Nintendo has smashed its first-quarter earnings estimates for the fiscal year, bolstered by strong games sales and US tariff refunds, though its customers likely won’t receive anything from the latter. In its latest financial results, Nintendo reports that operating profits soared to 142.5 billion yen (about $902 million) between April…
Recent Posts
- Sony is reportedly putting ‘important notice’ labels on PS5 consoles — warning buyers that disc production ends in 2028
- Suno is now letting users press their AI music slop to vinyl, thus alienating streaming services, artists and audiophiles
- Nintendo beats earnings thanks to US tariff refunds it won’t share with gamers
- SpaceX’s wandering Falcon 9 rocket has crashed into the moon
- Resident Evil Requiem’s Leon and Grace will co-host the Future Games Show: ‘Whether you’re into pulse-pounding horror, samurai adventures or anything in between, we’ve got first looks, exciting reveals and plenty of surprises in store’
Archives
- August 2026
- July 2026
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023