Summary
As of May 5,Nintendohas crossed the $100 billion threshold in market capitalization for the first time in the company’s history. Having been open for business since 1889,Nintendois currently on pace to become the sixth-most valuable Japanese company, as only $2 billion in market cap separates Nintendo from Fast Retailing, the parent company of the Uniqlo fashion brand.
After starting as a playing card company, Nintendo eventually ventured into other niche markets. In the early 1970s, Nintendo began manufacturing electronic toys and early video games, such as the Color TV-Game. However, Nintendo’s first major successful console was the Famicom, which was released in Japan in 1983 and then in 1985 in the West as the Nintendo Entertainment System. Since then, Nintendo has become a cornerstone of the video game industry. Nintendo’supcoming Switch 2 console will launch on June 5, starting at $449 for the base system and at $499 for theMario Kart Worldbundle.
AlthoughJapanese video game company stocks have been negatively impactedby the Trump administration’s tariffs on global trade, that has not stopped Nintendo from reaching a major financial milestone.According to CompaniesMarketCap, Nintendo is now worth over $100 billion in market capitalization for the first time in the company’s nearly 136-year history, as it stood valued at 16.05 trillion yen ($100.48 billion) at the end of May 5. By definition, market capitalization is the total value of a company’s currently circulating market shares, which is calculated by multiplying the outstanding shares by the shares' prices.
Nintendo Is Now Worth Over $100 Billion In Market Capitalization
According to Twitter user Stealth40k, Nintendo’s market cap before the Switch’s launch peaked at around $42 billion in 2016, meaning Nintendo has doubled its market cap since then. Nintendo is currently just under $2 billion shy of overtaking Fast Retailing, the parent company of the Uniqlo fashion brand, for sixth place in the market capitalization rankings among Japanese companies. By comparison, auto manufacturing giant Toyota has a market cap of $250.85 billion, over twice that of Nintendo.
Additionally, Nintendo crossed this milestone a month before the launch of the Switch 2. While the Switch 2 console and game prices are currently unaffected by the Trump tariffs,accessories and controllers saw price increasesof $5 to $10 in the US to compensate. With its high market capitalization value, Nintendo remains in a position to eat some of the tariff costs.
In response to the tariffs,Nintendo has diversified its manufacturing businesses to other nationslike Cambodia and Vietnam. It remains to be seen what long-term changes Nintendo may make after the Switch 2’s launch.
