Nintendo profit jumps despite lower sales, helped by software and tariff refunds

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Nintendo posted lower first-quarter sales for the three months ending June 30, 2026, but profit climbed sharply thanks to stronger software revenue and about $300 million in US tariff refunds.

The company said those refunds were “primarily borne by the company rather than passed on to consumers through product prices.” Nintendo has also moved to dismiss a related class action lawsuit alleging it failed to pass the refunds on to buyers.

  • Net sales were ¥517.8 billion, or about $3.2 billion, down 9.5%.
  • Operating profit hit ¥142.5 billion, or about $902.7 million, up 150.5%.
  • Ordinary profit rose to ¥206.1 billion, or about $1.3 billion, up 115.1%.
  • Net profit reached ¥147.4 billion, or about $925 million, up 53.3%.

Nintendo’s dedicated video game platform sales fell 13.3% to ¥483 billion, mainly because of weaker hardware sales. Digital sales were a bright spot, rising 90% to ¥132.7 billion, driven by downloadable packaged software.

Switch 2 sold 3.82 million units during the quarter, down 34.4% from 5.82 million in the same period last year. Nintendo said the system is still tracking well for a console in its second year, with 23.68 million units shipped to date. Original Switch hardware was also down, selling 0.66 million units.

Software held up better. Switch 2 game sales reached 9.46 million units, up 9.2%, with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book and Star Fox described as steady performers. Pokémon Pokopia has sold nearly 4 million units since launching in March. Original Switch software sales rose 38.6% to 33.81 million units, helped by Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, which has sold 7.94 million copies since April.

Nintendo’s IP business also grew, with sales up 107.4% to ¥34.8 billion. The company pointed to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which has passed $1 billion at the global box office.

Further reading: Official investor deck