It’s often mentioned just how badly Sony has performed over the last decade, missing-out on the disruption in the consumer electronics market that was started by Apple. It’s fascinating to see this breakdown of Sony’s recent results, and how Financial Services dominate both revenue and (even more so) profit:
How Apple, Smartphones, and Tablets Are Killing Sony (SNE)
Since 1987, when they acquired CBS Records, and then in 1989, when they acquired Columbia Pictures, Sony really have had it all to lose. They were uniquely positioned to use their ownership of the complete ‘stack’, from content creation, through hardware and software, to the consumer, to dominate the industry. But as is widely noted, the silo’d approach and protective practices of the individual businesses meant they unable to use this to their advantage.