Sony R&D expenses 2011-2018

In the company’s 2018 fiscal year, Sony Corporation spent around 481 billion Japanese Yen on research and development expenses, a figure which converts to around 4.4 billion U.S. dollars. This R&D spending figure is the company’s highest in years, eclipsing even its yearly advertising spending by a significant amount.

Sony

Sony is one of the largest companies in Japan and is organized as a true conglomerate, with its major business segments including music publishing, movie production, video gaming, and consumer electronics. In 2018, the company earned 78 billion U.S. dollars in total revenue and employed over one hundred thousand workers. The company’s “Game & Network Services” segment, which includes hardware, software and network sales of PlayStation products, has been its largest revenue generator since 2015, and currently accounts for over a quarter of Sony’s overall revenue.

Research and Development spending

While Sony’s most recent annual R&D expenditure was the highest it has been in years, it still pales in comparison to those of the world’s biggest R&D spenders. Four companies spent over 15 billion dollars on research and development spending in 2018, with tech giant Amazon topping the list at over 22 billion dollars spent.