PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Nintendo earnings disappoint while Sony's operating profit beat and it raised FY guidance

Fujimi Inc (5384 JT) - H1 FY26 (JPY): Net profit rose to 7.12bln (prev. 4.67bln Y/Y). Sees FY26 net profit of JPY 12.95bln. (Fujimi)

Japan Tobacco (2914 JT) - Co. says four of its Russian units have been placed under temporary administration and it is gathering further information while considering available options. (Japan Tobacco)

Kurita Water Industries (6370 JT) - H1 FY26 (JPY): Net profit fell to 7.40bln (prev. 17.17bln Y/Y). Sees FY26 net profit of JPY 28.70bln. (Kurita Water Industries)

Nintendo (7974 JT) - Q2 2026 (JPY): Operating Income 73.9bln (exp. 88.1bln). Total Switch 2 Unit Sales: Hardware 26.35mln, software 73.21mln. Maintains its FY outlook for 3% profit growth. (Nintendo)

Seven & i Holdings (3382 JT) - Co. plans to allocate JPY 3.5-4.0tln or more towards growth and strategic investments. (Seven & i)

SoftBank (9984 JT) - Co. says it was notified by China that the acquisition of ABB's (ABBN SW) robotics business had been blocked. (SoftBank)

Sony (6758 JT) - H1 2026 (JPY): Operating profit 1.10tln (prev. 768.93bln Y/Y), Revenue 6.27tln (prev. 5.73tln Y/Y). Q2 Operating Profit 622.3bln (exp. 505bln), Revenue 3.43tln (prev. 3.11tln Y/Y). Sees FY operating profit at 1.87tln (prev. guided 1.72tln). To add, the Co. introduced the MDR-3R, wired headphones at a cost of USD 60. (Sony)

Tokyo Energy & Systems (1945 JT) - H1 FY27 (JPY): Net profit rose to 1.89bln (prev. 1.49bln Y/Y), operating profit rose to 2.45bln (prev. 1.18bln Y/Y), pretax profit rose to 2.47bln (prev. 1.39bln Y/Y) and revenue rose to 40.92bln (prev. 34.28bln Y/Y). (Tokyo Energy & Systems)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co. announces that Mark Templin will succeed Ted Ogawa as President and CEO of Toyota Motor North America from January 2027. Ogawa will serve as Senior Executive Adviser through March before returning to Japan as Senior Fellow at Toyota Motor Corporation in April. (Toyota Motor)

• Japan and Vietnam are set to sign an MoU on cooperation to introduce small modular nuclear reactors in Vietnam as early as 2040, according to the Nikkei.

• Average Cash Earnings (Sep YY) 4.6% vs. Exp. 3.8% (Prev. 3.9%)
• Overtime Pay (Sep YY) 3.60% (Prev. 4.90%)

Coupang (CPNG) - Seoul Administrative Court rejects Coupang's injunction against a KRW 423bln (USD 315mln) fine imposed by South Korea's data protection regulator over privacy violations, including a data breach affecting more than 37mln users. (Yonhap)

Korea Investment Holdings (071050 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net profit fell 58.2% Y/Y to 281.8bln (exp. 346.4bln), operating profit fell 64.6% Y/Y to 300.4bln and revenue rose 85.7% Y/Y to 11.18tln. (Yonhap)

KT&G (033780 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net profit fell 75.1% Y/Y to 104.1bln (prev. 418.7bln), primarily due to FX losses stemming from the won's appreciation against the dollar. (Yonhap)

L&F (066970 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net loss 32.7bln (prev. loss Y/Y), operating loss 26.5bln (prev. profit 22.1bln Y/Y) and revenue rose 34.1% Y/Y to 874.4bln. (Yonhap)

LG Chem (051910 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net loss 600bln (prev. profit 447.3bln Y/Y), operating profit fell 17.4% Y/Y to 561.2bln and revenue rose 34% Y/Y to 15.49tln. Results were impacted by KRW 1.2tln in interest expenses and FX translation losses amid won appreciation. (Yonhap)

Lotte Shopping (023530 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net profit 142.4bln (exp. 62.6bln, prev. loss 48.7bln Y/Y), operating profit rose 34.5% Y/Y to 175.6bln and revenue rose 7.1% Y/Y to 3.65tln. (Yonhap)

Netmarble (251270 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net profit fell 45.3% Y/Y to 22.2bln (exp. 40.9bln), operating profit fell to 50.4bln (prev. 90.9bln Y/Y) and revenue fell 8.8% Y/Y to 634.7bln. (Yonhap)

SK Bioscience (302440 KS) - Q3 2026 (KRW): Net profit fell 43% Y/Y to 12bln, operating loss narrowed to 11.2bln (prev. loss 19.4bln Y/Y) and revenue rose 21% Y/Y to 182.4bln. (Yonhap)

• The BoK is reportedly preparing a large-scale purchase of US Treasuries to bolster FX reserves and strengthen Seoul's geopolitical and trade leverage in future negotiations with Washington, potentially using its US debt holdings as bargaining power, according to Korea Economic Daily.
• South Korea plans to delay the introduction of digital asset taxes by two years to 2029, according to the Finance Ministry.