Sony Credit rating to possibly be downgraded...again

[ARingcade]

If done, it would be the second time this year.

First time

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...etsNews&rpc=43

Aug 6 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Monday put Sony Corporation's ratings on review for downgrade, saying it was concerned that weak consumer sentiment globally and a strong yen would hurt earnings and debt at the Japanese electronics giant.

The agency said the move affected Sony's Baa1 long-term senior unsecured bond and issuer ratings and the Prime-2 short-term ratings and its supported subsidiary, Sony Global Treasury Services Plc.

"Moody's review will focus on Sony's ability to restore its earnings and leverage by dealing with its structural challenges effectively," the agency said in a statement.

"Moody's will also assess Sony's investment and financial strategy. In particular, Moody's will focus on Sony's approach to strengthen and diversify its earnings base over the medium term."

[SEGA Heritage]

Basically, Sony is operating on a $16 billion dollar cash reserve before it hits bankruptcy or has to be sold off in pieces.

Here is a good read for anyone not still convinced Sony is in serious trouble:


Sony, A Dying Brand The Prognosis Is Not Good

All that is left in the Sony kitty is $16.9 billion of cash and equivalents at the end of September, according to Bloomberg data. When this runs outSony will be forced to borrow, or sell with several Analysts tipping that Sony will be sold.

[Parn]

Blu-Ray sure was worth it!

[Darkism 13]

Blu-Ray sure was worth it!

Yeah, I heard after 6 years, Blu-Ray has about 30% of the home movie market. After 6 years, DVD is still the preferred format. In contrast, about 6 years after DVD's arrival, most companies had stopped putting their movies on VHS.

I'm wondering if at this point, if Sony will end up doing what Kodak did and start selling off all of it's patents in order to generate extra cash revenue.

[Elsa_La_Conti]

Man you guys sure do hate Sony.

[Dr. BaconStein]

Man you guys sure do hate Sony.

I think they kind of deserve it, though. They made the same security mistake three times in a row (PSP, PS3, and now Vita) as well as focusing their hardware on everything but gaming. I don't know why people defend Sony so adamantly, they price everything way too high (PSP was $250, PS3 was a whopping $600, Vita remains at $250 even with no games or internal storage space) and haven't done anything really relevant for gaming since the PS1 days.

I feel like Sony is just a status symbol like Lexus or Mercedes, it's just the "cool" thing to have because everyone else has it, regardless of the overall quality. And then those same "cool" people come on forums like this and /v/ to post-purchase rationalize because their system is so "cool" that they spend more time talking about it than actually playing it.

Nobody should have supported the PSP. The only reason Sony didn't burn then is, ironically, for the self-righteous software pirates who kept buying their useless handheld to play SNES games on. That money belongs to manufacturers like Yobo and Hyperkin who made hardware specifically for that purpose, not Sony who is already rolling in cash but doesn't deserve it.

[SEGA Heritage]

I agree with what you said, but Sony lost its "cool" factor a while ago now. Apple is the new cutting edge in terms of style. Sony is a lame, stale, irrelevant shell of its former self.

When a company stops innovating (and in the case of Sony, has started copying and playing follow the leader) it ceases to justify its existence and Sony is at that point now.

[Tenck]

Hahaha, this is hilarious. Even though I feel bad for the people who might eventually lose their jobs, it's still hilarious how a company like Sony went from being at top, to bottom of the barrel. Two console future likely? I think so.

[Darkism 13]

Man you guys sure do hate Sony.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I don't hate Sony because I hate the company in general. I hate Sony because of what they've become. 30 years ago, Sony was kind of like what Apple is right now. Owning a Sony product was like owning a nice car or a nice jacket. They had an attractive brand. 30 years later, they've become the mid 1990's Apple. They make too many products, which confuses consumers about their brand an what it means. They completely lack a sense of focus, and they seem to have forgotten who they once were.

It's not too late for Sony. Even though their brand has been tarnished, it's still a recognizable brand. If they follow Apple's example after Steve Jobs returned, they might survive. First, they have to remind the consumers and themselves who they are a company. Then they need to regain a sense of focus and not manufacture a million variations of a million different products. Also, they should sell off their film studios, music companies, law firms, and everything else that has their name on it that isn't part of the company's main focus. Maybe Sony can be the next post-1997 Apple instead of the mid 1990's Apple that they currently are.

[Elsa_La_Conti]

So wait are you guys saying that Nintendo did more for gaming with the Wii than the PS3 did? Hold on I'm in a state of shock in awe.

All Apple did was switch their focus from the hobbyist/tech crowd to the doucebag/hipster crowd. Much more profit knowing your target demographic doesn't know any better than to buy the newest iProduct even though the old product is only 6 months old. I had a horrible joke about Steve Jobs being so smart but well...you know.

Before you all get your panties in a wad I'm not a Sony fan. I'm a video game fan.