“Apple is doomed. So are you. As mortals we are used to the idea of death. We do not dwell on it even though it’s inevitable. We do know that we’ll die but what we don’t know is when we’ll die. That certainty/uncertainty makes us, more or less, do everything that we do. And so we carry on,” Horace Dediu writes for Asymco. “But companies die, too. And when they die is also a mystery but it’s not at all clear that their inevitable demise determines what they do. If you think you’re immortal you may live dangerously. Perhaps as a result they live shorter lives than we do.”
“Life expectancy for humans has been rising but for companies it has been declining,” Dediu writes. “Even more curiously, the richer you are the more likely you are to live longer but the wealthier a company, the more likely it is to keel over at any time. The longest lived small businesses live over 1000 years but the longest-lived large business is probably the East India Company that made it to the ripe age of 274. But that was before 1800.”
“In the modern, industrial era there are very few corporations that survived over a century and the Fortune 500 shows a turnover in inhabitants that resembles that of a plague-infested medieval inner-city,” Dediu writes. “So it’s no surprise that Apple, at age 43, is seen as being well past its sell-by date. And yet it seems to be saying, somewhat faintly, ‘I’m not dead yet.’ By generating more cash than can be comprehended by human observers and by controlling assets that are well beyond the means of many countries, they (it?) is confusing us with its persistence.”
Much more in the full article – recommended – here.
MacDailyNews Take: YKBAID.
Apple is still enjoying its childhood.
Hey, it’s astronomical fact that small stars burn slower, live much longer, as long as 1000 billion years. Big stars burn out much faster and explode and form matter and energy sucking black holes in as little as 10-100 million years.
Stay away from the suckage… /s
Boys and girls…this.is.called.gambling. One born every minute.
Your analogy sucks. Do you expect anyone to appreciate science when you use it to denigrate them? Horace Dediu doesn’t squander his metaphorical capital the way you just did yours.
Sarcasm….
Moe Howard once ordered “Burnt toast and a rotten egg”.
When questioned by the waiter (Curley) he said “I got a tapeworm and it’s good enough for him!”.
Considering this article, sarcasm is good enough or it.
“Apple is still enjoying its childhood.”
Precisely my dear Watson.
Hudson Bay Company of Canada incorporated 1670, that’s 347 years ago and still going strong.
Thank goodness for companies like the Shirley Plantation and Tuttle’s Red Barn, Field View Farm, Barker’s Farm and Seaside Inn which are older than the Hudson’s Bay company. Otherwise that country might find itself looking to be invaded by the war mongers.
When I visit the south coast of the UK, I sometimes call in at an excellent traditional butcher, Balsons of Bridport. The first record of them trading was in September 1515 and the same family has run the business ever since. I’ve heard it said that there are entire countries which are nowhere as old as that business.
Companies persist until they are disrupted by something better that replaces them because they can’t make the same leap. This is no mystery. Nothing better has come along. All the other companies are still playing catch up. It may happen someday – but the doomsayers are mostly just trying to manipulate sentiment. The doom has no basis in reality at this point.
The HBC began as a fur trade company and grew to have trading posts across North America. It continues as a department store retailer with large real estate holdings.
This article could only be written in the USA, in countries like Germany a company that’s less than a century old is still considered a newbie. Daimler Benz and BMW, for example, are still youngsters at only 100 years old, give or take. With the short attention spans that Americans have, it’s no wonder that the media have been predicting Apple’s demise for years now. Having such long-term stability doesn’t sell magazines, there needs to be more drama…
They have an attention span? News to me.
What’s that you say? — Trump just declared, “We love Ireland and we love the people of Ireland.” He’s my new dreamboat. Unless, later, he turns out to be a goddam liar. Then, I’ll wake up from my American coma.
Of course Trump loves Ireland, he sells Irish-themed baseball caps complete with a four leafed clover motif. Others more familiar with Irish culture might have embroidered a three leaf shamrock design instead.
Cranky today…
Again, walk the talk. It’s sad to see that representatives of your nation had to apologize to GCHQ for accusing/slandering/defaming them in regards to wiretapping the chump’s tower.
Talk about throwing your allies under the bus. If you haven’t figured out that the chump a chronic liar by now then, well see the (lack of) attention span comment I made earlier.
Happy St. Paddies Day.