‘Mama mia!’: Trump tariffs refund ignites 53% profit spike at Nintendo
Nintendo's quarterly profit jumped 53.5% to ¥147.4bn (£694m) in the three months to June, far outstripping analysts' forecasts of ¥77.8bn, after the company received a refund on tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. The boost came despite an overall 10% drop in revenue to ¥517.8bn, highlighting how the reversal of the US "Liberation Day" levies has become a significant financial lifeline for major exporters caught up in the trade dispute.
The refund follows a US supreme court ruling that Trump's tariffs were illegal, prompting Washington to repay around $100bn of the $165bn collected, roughly 60% of the total. Nintendo, which sued for a full refund plus interest, has not disclosed the exact sum received and faces a separate class action from customers alleging it raised prices due to tariffs while later benefiting from refunds, a claim its lawyers call "meritless". Switch 2 console sales remained strong, but the company still faces uncertainty after Trump imposed fresh tariffs on more than 80 countries last month, a move now being challenged in court by a coalition of 25 US states.
- Nintendo profit rose 53.5% to ¥147.4bn on a US tariff refund
- Overall quarterly revenue still fell 10% year-on-year
- Nintendo faces a customer lawsuit over tariff-related price rises
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of the administration's tariff approach argue that tariffs are a legitimate lever to correct trade imbalances, encourage reshoring of manufacturing and give US negotiators leverage with trading partners, and that a refund mechanism actually demonstrates the system's flexibility, correcting for goods or circumstances where the levy was not intended to apply rather than being applied blindly. From this view, Nintendo's profit boost is simply a company benefiting from a policy designed to be adjusted as circumstances are clarified, and firms remain free to adapt through pricing, sourcing changes or refund claims.
The case against
Critics contend that this episode exposes the unpredictability and administrative burden tariffs place on international business, since a company's reported profits can swing by more than 50% based on a one-off refund rather than genuine commercial performance, while underlying sales actually fell. They argue this shows tariff policy is being made and unmade in ways that are hard for global firms to plan around, and that headline profit figures inflated by government refunds can mislead investors and the public about the real health of trade and demand.
Americas Art Asia Business Companies Culture Entertainment Gaming Technology World