Sony Group Shares Surge After Expanding Share Buyback Plan

By Jason Chau

Japanese conglomerate Sony Group's shares surged after the company again expanded its ongoing share buyback program.

Its stock was recently 6.5% higher around midday in Tokyo on Friday, on track for its largest single-day gain in almost five months.

The gains followed Sony's announcement on Thursday that it would expand its share repurchase program amount to as much as 250 billion yen, or $1.6 billion, from 150 billion yen. This was the second time it has expanded its buyback program after initially approving 100 billion yen in November last year.

The company now plans to repurchase up to 90 million shares by May, representing more than 1.5% of its outstanding shares. This is a substantial increase from the 55 million shares originally announced.

Sony said it had launched the share buyback in a bid to improve capital efficiency. It added that the plan was expanded to allow more flexibility in repurchases, after considering the current pace of buybacks and stock market trends.

The share price move may also reflect a shift in investor flows, as stocks of other gaming companies have also risen.

"Sony's stock increase is likely part of a broader movement to take profits on semiconductor-related stocks following Nvidia's earnings and to repurchase gaming-related stocks that had been recently sold off heavily," said Morningstar equity research director Kazunori Ito.

Sony's shares, which outperformed other gaming stocks, gained even further in reaction to the share buyback expansion, he added.

"We are seeing rotation into laggards like...Sony that [had] been trading woefully with AI and semiconductor related names sucking in all the flows," with the shift expected to continue into March, said Andrew Jackson, head of Japan equity strategy at Ortus Advisors.

Write to Jason Chau at jason.chau@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 23:29 ET (04:29 GMT)