So what are the analyst projections? Loss? Profit? Good? Bad?

tagged ^^

Reserved, since all the cool kids are doing it.

Why is everyone so reserved?

I'd like to make a reservation.

Is Sony finally going to tell us PS2 and PS3 shipments or are we going to have to wait until it passes the Wii?

The company projects a second straight full-year profit after cutting 16,400 jobs and selling assets including its 37-story Manhattan office building last year to end a streak of four straight annual losses.

Taking over from former CEO Howard Stringer in April of last year, Hirai pledged to unify the electronics maker’s sprawling businesses, ranging from consumer electronics to music, movies and financial services, under the slogan “One Sony.”

For the Xperia planning team, change under Hirai has been noticeable, Kurozumi said.

“I have staff who joined my team from the Walkman unit and a former Cyber-shot manager, too,” Kurozumi said. “There’s no longer any awkwardness in talking to people on other teams.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-29/sony-s-hirai-mixes-camera-with-phone-geeks-to-catch-apple.html

I dont know what to expect. Reserved?

Wall Street Journal has a nice write up of what to watch for each division:

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2013/10/30/sony-earnings-what-to-watch/

By
Daisuke Wakabayashi
CONNECT

Sony Corp. Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai’s effort to turn around the Japanese electronics and entertainment group will get a progress report this week when the company reports quarterly results on Thursday.

Players view a game menu on Sony’s “The PlayRoom”, an augmented reality video game on the PlayStation 4 console, during the Eurogamer Expo Sept. 28.
Bloomberg News

Under Mr. Hirai, Sony is focusing on paring costs at its long-struggling electronics operations while working to introduce a slew of new products aimed at reviving a brand once revered for its wondrous gadgets and cutting-edge technology. It continues to revamp its smartphone line-up, deepen its digital camera offerings and prepare to introduce the PlayStation 4, the latest version of its videogame console.

That new wave of products has not filtered its way down to Sony’s bottom line yet. The company is still facing tough conditions at its electronics business, while its entertainment operations are trying to rebound from a string of disappointing summer movies. Analysts are forecasting that Sony will return to profit – a modest one – in the quarter ended September, compared to a loss in the year-ago period.

On average, analysts are forecasting a net profit of Y13.85 billion, or $142 million, for the three months ended Sept. 30, a reversal from the Y15.5 billion loss a year earlier. Sony’s results are expected to get a boost from a one-time gain of Y13 billion from the sale of shares in an online medical services subsidiary.

Sony plans to release its financial results after the market close in Tokyo at 3:00 p.m. Here are key areas to keep an eye on:

Can Sony Pictures find its footing? Often overlooked in the past because of the woes at its electronics business, Sony’s entertainment division is now in focus because of hedge-fund investor Daniel Loeb’s efforts to prod the company into spinning off the division through an IPO. Sony rebuffed the proposal, saying that full ownership of the business was essential to its future, but a poor result from Sony Pictures could provide more ammunition for Mr. Loeb’s assertion that the entertainment business is being poorly managed. If the disappointing box office performance of some of its biggest summer films, including science-fiction flick “After Earth,” are any indication, Sony’s numbers may not look very pretty.

Two is a trend: In the quarter ended June, Sony posted a quarterly profit at its beleaguered television business for the first time in three years. It was a pleasant surprise for a business that had been the company’s Achilles heel for a long, long time. (On an annual basis, the TV business has not been profitable for nearly a decade.) The question remains whether this was a one-off blip or whether Mr. Hirai’s cost-cutting efforts are taking hold. If it can deliver a profit during the summer doldrum months – usually a slow period for electronics firms – this may be the sign of a turning point at the business.

Dialing up smartphone profits: A critical facet of Sony’s turnaround efforts is if it can build a viable smartphone business. Not only are smartphones a fast-growing segment that will help to drive revenue over the next few years, it’s also an important way for Sony to hedge against some of its traditional electronics operations that are being cannibalized. For example, its basic point-and-shoot cameras, portable gaming machines and music players are all feeling the pinch from smartphones. After a big loss in the year-ago period, Sony eked out a Y5.9 billion profit from smartphones in the June quarter – but that included a one-time gain from the reversal of a patent royalty accrual.

PlayStation 4: Sony is expecting big things from the PlayStation 4, the first reboot of its popular videogame console in seven years. The machine, which goes on sale on Nov. 15, is generating strong buzz online but how will consumers react? For its part, Sony is forecasting that it will sell five million PS4 units by the end of March, which indicates that the company expects the new console to start stronger than its predecessor, the PlayStation 3, which was hurt initially by a big price tag. While the key details of the PS4 – including price, launch dates and specs – are already known, we’ll be looking for any other insights about what Sony expects from its new console.

No need to reserve the first spot, you have the OP!    :)