TL;DR Sony might be best known for its Walkman and PlayStation, but it is in fact a massive conglomerate with businesses in entertainment, Sony Pictures, electronic components, such as CMOS image sensors and LED crystals, and even a financial sector in form of Sony Life Insurance and Sony Bank.
Hi and thanks for the question! While I do agree that it is much higher than Sony's peers in Japan (especially Hitachi and Panasonic), I do not think it's unmanageable. The debt to equity (D/E) ratio stands around 3.2, which at first sight is high, but as Sony has a massive financial arm, it's leverage is naturally higher than pure tech companies. Also, Sony has been lowering their D/E ratio substantially: Since 2013, it has gone from 4.3 to 3.2.
Hi, Thanks for the article. Can you also please comment on the huge debt of Sony?
Hi and thanks for the question! While I do agree that it is much higher than Sony's peers in Japan (especially Hitachi and Panasonic), I do not think it's unmanageable. The debt to equity (D/E) ratio stands around 3.2, which at first sight is high, but as Sony has a massive financial arm, it's leverage is naturally higher than pure tech companies. Also, Sony has been lowering their D/E ratio substantially: Since 2013, it has gone from 4.3 to 3.2.