Nintendo profit soars 150% to $902M boosted by $300M US tariff refunds

Nintendo reported a 150.5 percent surge in operating profit for the first quarter of its fiscal year, reaching 142.5 billion yen (about $902 million), according to its latest financial results released on August 6, 2026. The jump was driven by strong game sales and a one-time boost from U.S. tariff refunds.

The profit increase affects Nintendo's bottom line, but the company says its customers will not see any of the tariff refund money. Nintendo argues it absorbed the tariff costs itself rather than passing them on through higher console prices, so buyers are not entitled to a share of the refunds.

The results matter because they highlight how trade policy and legal disputes are shaping the gaming industry's finances. Nintendo is currently defending a lawsuit that claims it should share the refunds with customers who paid elevated prices, while rival Sony faces a similar class-action suit over PlayStation price hikes.

For the quarter ending June 30, 2026, Nintendo's operating profit hit 142.5 billion yen, up from 56.9 billion yen a year earlier. Software sales for the Switch 2 rose 9.2 percent year-over-year, and original Switch software sales climbed 38.6 percent. Switch 2 hardware sales fell to 3.82 million units from 5.82 million a year ago, though that was up from 2.49 million in the previous quarter. Nintendo recorded approximately $300 million from tariff refunds as a reduction in cost of sales.

The tariff refunds stem from duties imposed on imports during earlier trade disputes. Nintendo says it chose not to raise product prices in response, instead covering the costs internally. In May 2026, Sony was sued by customers alleging it achieved a "double recovery windfall" by collecting refunds after increasing PlayStation prices.

Nintendo is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, and the outcome could set a precedent for how companies handle tariff-related costs and refunds. The case continues as the gaming giant posts record earnings fueled partly by those very refunds.