Sony

Sony was established in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. This electronics company, known for creating products such as the transistor radio TR-55, the home video tape recorder CV-2000, the portable audio player Walkman, and the compact disc player CDP-101, embarked on diverse business ventures. In 1988, Sony acquired CBS Records, and in 1989, it acquired Columbia Pictures. The company also introduced the home video game console PlayStation. In Japan, Sony expanded into the financial sector. In 2021, Sony transformed into a holding company, handing over the name Sony Corporation to its subsidiary electronics company.


Sony, with its 55 percent market share in the image sensor market, is the largest manufacturer of image sensors, the second largest camera manufacturer, and is among the semiconductor sales leaders.^[7][8][9] It is the world's largest player in the premium TV market for a television of at least 55 inches (140 centimeters) with a price higher than $2,500 as well as second largest TV brand by market share and, as of 2020, the third largest television manufacturer in the world by annual sales figures.^{[10][11][12][13]}


Sony has a weak tie to the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) corporate group, the successor to the Mitsui keiretsu.^[14] Sony is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (in which it is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX Core30 indexes) with an additional listing in the form of American depositary receipts listed in the New York Stock Exchange (traded since 1970, making it the oldest Japanese company to be listed in an American exchange), and was ranked 88th on the 2021 Fortune Global 500 list.^[15] In 2023, the company was ranked 57th in the Forbes Global 2000.^[16]