Al Root

Panasonic reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and announced restructuring actions, including laying off 10,000 workers, all designed to improve profitability.

The shares were rising.

The Japanese electronics company on Friday announced fiscal fourth-quarter earnings per share of about 23 cents from sales of $14.2 billion. Wall Street was looking for about 12 cents and $13 billion, respectively.

Looking ahead, the company expects to generate sales of about $54 billion in fiscal 2026, up from about $53.5 billion in 2025. That guidance excludes the auto business, which was sold in December. Wall Street is currently projecting $53.5 billion

Tariffs haven't been factored into the guidance. Panasonic sales in the U.S. total almost $11 billion annually.

All of Panasonic's business, including electric-vehicle batteries, are expected to grow in 2025. Panasonic sells EV batteries to Tesla and others. The forecast partly shows that EV growth should continue around the globe for the coming 12 months.

Operating profit should be about $3.4 billion, or about 6.4% of sales. Wall Street is modeling $3 billion.

Panasonic also laid out plans to improve profit margins to 10% of sales, including a workforce reduction of some 10,000 people. The company has more than 200,000 employees worldwide who make everything from washing machines to motors to EV batteries to TVs and other consumer products.

Panasonic shares were up 2.2% in overseas trading, leaving them up about 6% this and about 27% over the past 12 months. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com

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May 09, 2025 07:36 ET (11:36 GMT)

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