Could Toshiba gain profit by ending the format war? It seems that they already are. According to a story from Forbes, investors responded quite positively to the news that Toshiba is backing out of the high-definition format war.

Toshiba's stock rose 5.9% just from early Monday afternoon trading in Tokyo, while Sony's stock rose just 1.9% on the Tokyo market. Nikko Citigroup analyst Hiroyuki Masuko also said Monday that Toshiba could raise its operating profit by 20% in the next fiscal year if they abort HD DVD. He eve raised his rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral."

The company still hasn't officially announced HD DVD's demise, but many are expecting it within a few days.