Bridgestone

Bridgestone Corporation is a Japanese multinational tire and rubber company, widely recognized as the world's largest tiremaker and one of the global "Big Three" alongside Michelin and Goodyear. Beyond tires, it manufactures diversified products including industrial rubber, chemical products, and sporting goods, with flagship products sold under the Bridgestone and Firestone brands.

The company was founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name "Bridgestone" is a calque of ishibashi (石橋), meaning 'stone bridge.' Originally making tabi (Japanese workers' footwear), Ishibashi found success adding rubber soles and shifted into the rubber business. The corporate name evolved over time — Nippon Tire Co. (1942), Bridgestone Tire Co., Ltd. (1951), and Bridgestone Corporation (1984). Headquarters moved to Tokyo in 1937.

The Bridgestone Group operates about 180 manufacturing plants and R&D facilities and sells products in more than 150 countries. In 2024 it posted global revenue of roughly ¥4.313 trillion (about $28.9 billion), up year-over-year, with around $1.2 billion in operating profit and an adjusted operating profit margin of 9.9%, driven by an improved premium-tire sales mix and growth in large mining tires.

The company positions itself as a sustainability-focused, solutions-oriented enterprise through 2050, developing next-generation products such as its airless "AirFree" tire and a lunar rover tire — innovation areas central to its long-term strategy.