Bandai Namco sees record Q1 while Digimon achieves highest profit ever

• Bandai Namco generated $2.1 billion in net sales during Q1.
• Operating profit totalled $436.1 million for the quarter.

Japanese giant Bandai Namco generated ¥328.5 billion ($2.1bn) in net sales across its business operations during the first quarter of its fiscal year.

This marked a rise of 9% year-over-year, achieved with growing sales in its Toys and Hobby segment but declines in its Digital business.

Bandai Namco claimed its core game apps "continued to enjoy stable popularity", although software sales on home consoles fell compared to last Q1 without a major title release.

Digital made ¥90.9bn ($572.8 million) in net sales and ¥15bn ($94.5m) in profit. By comparison, Toys and Hobby made ¥192.7bn ($1.2bn) in net sales and ¥53.9bn ($339.7m) in profit.

Overall, Bandai Namco’s operating profit totalled ¥69.2bn ($436.1m) for the quarter, up 33% Y/Y.

Digimon, Gundam and more

In its financials, Bandai Namco noted the successful leveraging of its portfolio and range of product categories. The company achieved record-high Q1 results with a "robust performance" from IPs like Gundam, Dragon Ball and One Piece.

Bandai Namco president Nao Udagawa also told Famitsu that the Digimon IP has recently recorded its highest profit ever, even surpassing its success during the Digimon Adventures wave of the late 90s and early 2000s.

"It is truly gratifying to see franchises like Gundam and Digimon grow into intellectual properties enjoyed across two or three generations," she said (auto-translated into English).

Both IPs have been leveraging mobile, with 2025 release SD Gundam G Generation Eternal having landed among the top three most lucrative new mobile releases last year. Digimon Up has also just launched as a mobile-exclusive idle game at the beginning of Q2.

The Digimon brand has been growing through the collectable card game as well as the success of PC and console title Digimon Story: Time Stranger, which has surpassed one million sales across platforms.

Bandai’s successful Q1 results came with net sales and operating profit both rising in the East. In Japan, net sales totalled ¥245.6bn ($1.5bn) at a rise of 13% Y/Y. Operating profit reached ¥64bn ($403.3m), up 31%.

The rest of Asia followed at ¥35.7bn ($225m) in net sales, a 17% rise Y/Y. Operating profit grew by 24% to ¥5.6bn ($35.3m).

Meanwhile, the Americas generated ¥26.2bn ($165.1m) in net sales, marking a decline of 3%. Yet, the region saw operating profit rise dramatically, achieving the highest growth of any market globally. Operating profit reached ¥6.4bn ($40.3m). While this was still just 10% of Japan’s ¥64bn ($403.3m), it represented growth of 166% Y/Y.

The Digimon IP is set to appear in Lilith Games’ AFK Journey later this August, and Bandai Namco also has plans to release a mobile card game titled Digimon Alysion sometime this year.