Simon & Schuster, Inc.
- Date:
- 1924 - present
- Ticker:
- KKR
- Share price:
- $130.78 (mkt close, Dec. 24, 2025)
- Market cap:
- $121.09 bil.
- Annual revenue:
- $22.25 bil.
- Earnings per share (prev. year):
- $2.38
- Sector:
- Financials
- Industry:
- Capital Markets
- CEO:
- Mr. Joseph Y. Bae
Simon & Schuster is an American publishing house. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster, whose initial project, the original crossword-puzzle book, was a bestseller. Among the publisher’s other innovations was Pocket Books, the first American paperback line, which was launched in 1939. The company came to publish a wide variety of books, including many best-sellers and prizewinners.
A history of ownership changes
In 1975 the company was sold to Gulf + Western Inc., which was renamed Paramount Communications in 1989 and acquired by Viacom Inc. in 1994. Simon & Schuster became part of Viacom’s CBS division in 2005. In 1998, Simon & Schuster sold its educational, professional, and reference divisions to Pearson PLC and concentrated on fiction and nonfiction for the general reader.
In 2006, Simon & Schuster became part of CBS Corporation, which was spun off from Viacom. CBS and Viacom reunited in 2019 as ViacomCBS (renamed Paramount Global in 2022). In 2023 Paramount Global sold the publisher to the private equity firm KKR, making it an independent company once again.