Sony Must Now Prove Its PS5 Is a Real Winner

Sony Group Corp. copped it on multiple sides last quarter. Its sensor business was hurt by a smartphone slowdown, the entertainment arm suffered from a relative lack of hits, and software sales disappointed at the marquee games division. But with PlayStation 5 production shortages finally fading, the Japanese giant needs to show this coming year that its latest console can carry other underperforming divisions.

Revenue for the fiscal third quarter climbed 13% to 3.41 trillion yen ($26.4 billion), missing estimates for 3.5 trillion yen, even as an 8% fall in operating profit beat expectations. Removing foreign exchange impacts, sales would have actually dropped 2%, the company said. More than 83% of the increase in sales at its game and network services business so far this fiscal year have come from a weaker yen, according to Bloomberg Opinion calculations based on data released by the company Thursday. It’s a similar story for the other divisions. The company trimmed its full-year revenue outlook while slightly boosting the operating income forecast.