Canon

When Kodak invented digital photography in 1975, it faced a classic signal transduction failure: detecting environmental change but blocking the response due to legacy infrastructure. Canon faced no such impediment. The company entered digital photography without film revenues to protect, captured market signals Kodak ignored, and executed rapid phenotypic plasticity across its product portfolio.

Canon has held the #1 global market share for interchangeable-lens cameras for 22 consecutive years (2003-2024), currently commanding 46.5% versus Sony's 26.1% and Nikon's 11.7%. This dominance emerged from niche partitioning: professional photographers demand full-frame mirrorless cameras like the EOS R1 and R5 Mark II, while Generation Z social media creators drive unexpected demand for compact cameras like the PowerShot G7 X Mark III. Canon serves both niches simultaneously through portfolio diversification.

Revenue reached ¥4.51 trillion ($32.5 billion) in 2024, exceeding the company's 2007 record. The imaging division generated ¥937.4 billion, up 8.8%, but represents only 21% of total revenue. Canon's evolutionary strategy mirrors coral reef fish: maintain core hunting grounds (imaging) while expanding into adjacent ecological niches (office equipment, medical imaging, industrial systems). This bet-hedging reduces vulnerability to single-market disruption. When smartphone cameras commoditized point-and-shoot photography, Canon's medical equipment and industrial printer divisions maintained organism viability.

The company invests ¥337.3 billion (7.5% of revenue) annually in R&D, securing 2,329 U.S. patents in 2024. This mutation rate sustains competitive fitness as markets shift. Canon didn't just survive the digital transition Kodak failed to navigate—it demonstrated that organisms without legacy constraints can exploit environmental change faster than incumbents protecting obsolete adaptations.