Mario and Luigi are two of the most iconic characters in the Nintendo Co. Ltd. (OTCMKTS: NTDOY) universe. The company hopes the brothers can help it cash in on their popularity with the upcoming release of the "Super Mario Galaxy Movie," due out in April.
The movie is the sequel to the popular "Super Mario Bros. Movie" that hit theaters in 2023. To the surprise of some, the movie was a box-office success, boosting Nintendo’s intellectual property (IP) sales.
It’s not surprising, then, that Nintendo is hoping the sequel is as popular, if not more, than the original. The movie’s release is scheduled nearly one year to the day after Nintendo released its Switch 2 console.
In its most recent earnings report, the company highlighted cumulative global sell-through of 15 million Switch 2 consoles as of the fourth week of December 2025. That makes it the fastest-selling dedicated video game platform the company has released.
The Year of Super Mario Becomes a Strategic Push
Prior to the movie’s release, Nintendo is scheduled to release the "Super Mario Bros. Wonder" game, exclusively for the Switch 2. That’s just one of several initiatives the company has planned for the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros.
This aligns with Nintendo's strategy to lean into IP as a revenue stream that can help smooth out the lumpiness of console sales. IP makes up only a fraction of the company’s total revenue. For example, in the first nine months of the company’s 2026 fiscal year, Nintendo reported $54.5 billion in IP-related revenue.
That was just 3% of the company’s overall sales over that period. But it’s the type of revenue that can go straight to the bottom line.
Tariffs, AI, and Geopolitical Risks Add Uncertainty
Even before the Switch 2 launched, Nintendo was facing hurdles in the form of tariffs. The company has mitigated some of those issues by moving some production to Vietnam.
However, before the company’s recent report, concerns were growing about a slowdown in Nintendo’s earnings, which are increasingly affected by memory chip prices. Supporting that line of thinking, the company reported declining year-over-year (YOY) operating margins through the first three quarters of its 2026 fiscal year.
That's the bad news. The better news is that the Switch 2, like its predecessor, the Switch, has a multi-year sales window. So even though the company has enjoyed brisk sales to date, there’s still a large addressable market, which may get a kick start when the Super Mario Bros. Movie is released.
Another concern is how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact the gaming sector. The fear is that Nintendo will see a loss in revenue (and earnings) as individuals can self-create games using agentic AI.
There will be some of that for sure, but it seems likely that many consumers will want to experience AI without having to self-create. That puts Nintendo in a sweet spot, particularly if it finds ways to use AI to develop its own titles faster.
A concern since the earnings report is the U.S.-Israel joint military conflict with Iran. That is likely to delay some shipments of the Switch 2, which travel by sea.
NTDOY Stock Needs Technical Confirmation
Nintendo stock has been a volatile investment in the past 12 months. The 52-week range for NTDOY stock is $13.05 to $24.92. Not surprisingly, the 52-week high coincided with a two-month surge in Nintendo stock that peaked in mid-August after the June release of the Switch 2. Since then, the NTDOY stock chart shows a bearish pattern. However, this doesn’t look like a falling knife situation. The stock looks like it found a bottom around the earnings report.
But when a turnaround will occur is unclear, as the 50-day simple moving average (SMA), which has been acting as resistance, stalled upward momentum in early March. Investors would want to see a breakout above that level with strong volume for confirmation of a reversal.
The best-case scenario for Nintendo is that the U.S. economy will improve. That would boost consumer discretionary stocks in general. But specifically for Nintendo, consumers who may have put off buying the Switch 2 could become buyers. A swift, orderly resolution of geopolitical concerns and continued clarity around tariffs would also strengthen the business case.
That may take a quarter or more to play out. In the meantime, Nintendo does pay a safe dividend. The company also has over $15 billion in cash on its balance sheet to go with a market capitalization of around $73 billion as of this writing.
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The article "Will the Super Mario Movie Make It Showtime for Nintendo Stock?" first appeared on MarketBeat.
