Holding Company Examples

Holding company examples include those types of organizations that are not directly involved in the work of manufacturing selling or purchasing, or providing other types of services which are in demand in the market. Their main objective is to control their subsidiaries.

The holding company examples include the example of Google restructuring itself and creating a parent company called Alphabet Inc., under which is now all its diverse portfolio of business. Berkshire Hathaway, owned by Warren Buffet, is another great example of a holding company that works in the investment space. Their working is influenced by the rules of the jurisdiction where they operate.

The following holding company examples outline the most popular holding companies.  A holding company is an entity that holds controlling interests in other companies. Controlling interest is the ownership of 50% or more of the examples of a holding company shares, giving the holding company the authority to make management decisions, influence, and Board of Directors. A holding company structure examples is thus also known as the 'parent' while the companies held under it are its 'subsidiaries.'

Each examples of a holding company states the company business subsidiary companies with additional comments as needed.

Below are some examples of popular holding companies from different industries.

Given below are some very important and famous holding company structure examples which will give us a clear idea about the concept.

Example #1

We are familiar with the computer software and search engine company Google. However, in 2015, Google underwent a corporate restructuring and reorganized as a subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc., a newly formed parent company holding Google and many other related subsidiaries.

Alphabet Inc. is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in California and has no business operations. However, it owns substantial intellectual property through its subsidiaries and is entirely driven by its earnings, cash flows, and assets. Over 85% of its total revenues in FY 2018 were generated from its primary business – advertising.

• Alphabet, Inc. was formed with an underlying intention of narrowing the business scope of Google, for it to focus on its core business and create a better scale of management by running Google's subsidiaries separately. The subsidiaries held under Google at the restructuring were thus transferred to Alphabet Inc.
• Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, moved to the management of Alphabet as CEO and President, respectively, making Sundar Pichai the new CEO of Google.
• Google’s ticker symbol GOOG and GOOGL are retained by Alphabet Inc., and these stocks continue to trade similarly with the same price history on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. Alphabet Inc. reported a firm-wide (consolidated) revenue of US$257.6 billion and a net income of US$76 billion in FY 2021.
• The subsidiaries owned by Alphabet, Inc. include Calico, CapitalG, Chronicle, DeepMind Technologies, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Google Fiber, Jigsaw, Makani, Sidewalk Labs, Verily, Waymo, Loon, etc.

Example #2

Another famous holding company is Sony Corporation, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. A popular brand name today, well heard of in electronics, music, the PlayStation, and other games, Sony was founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka in 1946.

It is now a public company with common stock listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the symbol SNE. In FY2021, the company reported firm-wide revenue of ¥8.999 trillion (US$81.38 billion) and a net income of ¥1.191 trillion (US$10.77 billion).

• Sony Corporation operates a wide array of entertainment, electronics, gaming, telecommunications, etc.
• The major subsidiaries under Sony Corporation are Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Global Manufacturing & Operations Corporation, Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc., Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Ericsson), Sony Music Entertainment (formerly CBS Group), Sony Network Communications Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment (including Columbia Pictures as a division), etc.
• Like Google, some of these subsidiaries hold controlling interests in other companies.
• For example, Gaikai, an American gaming technology provider, is a Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc subsidiary. In this example, therefore, the latter is also a holding company.

Example #3

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is one of the largest global investment banking and financial services industries. Incorporated in December 2000 through the JPMorgan and Chase Manhattan Bank merger. It is a multinational public company which is a investment holding company examples headquartered in New York, United States.

Its common stock is listed on the NYSE with the symbol JPM. The current chairman and CEO of the company are Jamie Dimon.

• In F.Y.2020, the company reported a firm-wide managed revenue of US$119.54 billion and a net income of US$29.13 billion.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has over 40 subsidiaries worldwide in asset and wealth management, corporate and investment banking, commercial banking, and consumer and community banking.
• These subsidiaries of which is a investment holding company examples are JPMorgan Chase Bank, JPMorgan Asset Management Holdings Inc., JPMorgan Securities LLC, and Chase Bank USA.

Example #4

Incorporated in 1887, Johnson & Johnson is a multinational holding company headquartered in New Jersey, United States. It is a popular brand name worldwide, especially for first-aid and baby care products.

The company is involved in research and development, manufacturing, and sales of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health and well-being products, and other related consumer products.

• It is a publicly listed company with its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange, with JNJ as the symbol.
• In FY 2020, Johnson & Johnson reported firm-wide revenues of US$82.584 billion and a net income of about US$14.714 billion.
• It has over 260 operating subsidiaries worldwide as of December 2018. These subsidiaries own several patents related to their products and formulations.
• Its major subsidiaries are Cordis Corporation, Ethicon, Inc., Janssen Biotech, Inc., Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Services, McNeil Consumer Health, Neutrogena, etc.

A ultimate holding company examples is the parent of various companies controlled under it, known as its subsidiaries. Common examples of holding companies are conglomerates owning companies in multiple industries. They may offer a wide range of products and/or services under one umbrella.

As observed in the above ultimate holding company examples, the financial statements of holding companies provide a consolidated view of their performance as a whole, i.e., accounting for all of their subsidiaries.

A subsidiary may hold controlling interests, thus being a holding company with a separate ultimate parent.