Why the Nintendo Switch console has let the gaming giant down

Nintendo says it will buy back shares after its quarterly profit missed estimates

The company reported an operating income of 119.75 billion yen compared to their projection of 130 billion yen.

Nintendo says it plans to buy back up to 1.51% of its shares for 100 billion yen.

It saw a mixed picture with Switch hardware sales, which fell by 22% overall.

Investors are watching gaming firms closely for signals that the COVID-19 pandemic sales boom may be running out of steam. Nintendo is highly dependent on the cyclical console business, with sales of its devices traditionally peaking around the fifth year.

The devastating results from the Switch Lite

Nintendo saw sales of Switch Lite units more than halve to 1.14 million during the April-June quarter but maintained its full-year forecast for Switch hardware at 25.5 million units. It sold 4.45 million Switch consoles, including the Lite, during the quarter.

The creator of Super Mario and Animal Crossing said first-quarter operating profit fell 17% to 119.8 billion yen ($1.1 billion), falling short of a Refinitiv consensus estimate of 129.3 billion yen.

The games maker reported record earnings during the pandemic-fueled gaming boom.