Interesting discussion about Nintendo arose in another thread, so let’s open its very own thread for this gaming industry giant.
Japanese Nintendo is one of the world’s largest gaming companies with sales of approximately 15 billion dollars and a market capitalization of over 60 billion. Nintendo is one of the oldest players in the gaming industry, demonstrating its ability for continuous change and adaptation. In many respects, Nintendo can be considered one of the pioneers of the gaming industry. The company’s history dates back to 1889 as a manufacturer of playing cards.
The company is a somewhat peculiar player in that it strongly combines hardware and software: Nintendo makes its own hardware and primarily sells its own games on this hardware.
The investment case itself was presented so concisely by @Visukinttu that I won’t elaborate further:
The company indeed has over ten billion dollars in cash, making it Japan’s most cash-rich company. In Japan, however, it is generally customary to accumulate huge war chests without much use. ![]()
Regarding valuation, the P/E is currently 15x, which feels low in relation to the company’s brands and earnings potential. In the coming years, however, the P/E will rise to around 18x, which is not excessively high for such a high-quality company either.
Metrics that take net cash into account, especially my favorite EV/Sales, are at a level of just under 4x in the coming years.
Here’s also Matthew Ball’s good article on Nintendo’s culture Nintendo, Disney, and Cultural Determinism — MatthewBall.co
The company also made an appearance in Aten’s and my gaming podcast inderesPodi 81: Sukellus peliyhtiöihin (6.11.2020) - Inderes
Practical matters: Nintendo is available as an ADR on PINK SHEETS. Through Nordnet, purchasing is now normally possible by simply completing a knowledge test. It is also normally possible through brokers like Lynx. Buying from Tokyo is probably also possible with some brokers, but then the minimum lot of shares is 100 (share over 60,000 yen, i.e., approx. €600 per share).
