Hello Kitty owner Sanrio’s shares plunge most since 2014 after 1Q earnings miss
Sanrio shares had risen almost 50% since the beginning of 2026 through Aug 10, outperforming Topix
Published Wed, Aug 12, 2026 · 10:41 AM — Updated Wed, Aug 12, 2026 · 10:48 AM
SANRIO shares tumbled as much as 20 per cent, the most in more than 12 years, after the company’s first quarter operating income missed market estimates.
The Hello Kitty owner reported 22.4 billion yen (US$141 million) in 1Q operating income on Monday (Aug 10), missing the Bloomberg Consensus of 23.4 billion yen.
“The 1Q results could prompt some near-term profit-taking and weakness” due to the neutral tone, but there is no need for major concern as the business is progressing steadily, wrote Morgan Stanley MUFG analysts Katsumi Arai and Akiho Toyama in a report.
Sanrio shares had risen almost 50 per cent since the beginning of 2026 through Monday, outperforming the Topix.
“The shares had been rising at a fairly rapid pace since late June, so with the lack of positive surprises in the earnings, many investors likely see it as a good time to sell,” said Kazuhiro Sasaki, head of research at Phillip Securities. BLOOMBERG
