The world is spinning continuously, and so are the gears in industries and those in businessmen’s minds.
The world is definitely not the same as it was a century ago and it goes without saying that technological advancements and the changing trends in taste and fashion in each and every field have contributed to this paradigm shift.
But how much exactly has the business world shifted in the last 100 years?
If you take a brief overview of the business industry, you will come across many billion dollar businesses of yesteryear that began their journey from scratch and rose to glory with the passage of time, only to find themselves on the downward drive to their demise.
However, while some corporate giants rose and fell, others proved to stand the test of time and ruled their respective industries for as long as even a century. And most of them even continue to be the leader to date.
Here is a look at the three biggest U.S. companies which have dominated the market for the last 100 years.
1. U.S. Steel
United States Steel Corporation, commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer with its current headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
In 1917, U.S. Steel was the most valuable company in America, with assets amounting to $2.5 billion at that time (approximately $47.8 billion today).
The firm came into existence in 1901 after the merger of Carnegie Steel with Federal and National Steel. In the following decade, U.S. Steel accounted for almost 60% of the total steel production in the U.S.
A major factor that contributed to the firm becoming the market giant was the fact that it became the major supplier to the U.S. Army during both the World Wars. Moreover, steel was the backbone of the industrial revolution which sparked during the same century.
However, in the years following the Second World War, the demand for steel started to fall and the company was forced to downsize its operations.
Although U.S. Steel is still a large organization, it no longer plays as pivotal a role today as it used to a century ago.
However, it wouldn’t take much of thinking to guess who another market leader in the U.S. could have been. Yes, you are right! It is IBM.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) began operating in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recoding (CTR) Company. It was renamed IBM in 1924 and is currently, a multinational juggernaut leading the market for information technology.
In the year 1967, it had assets which would amount to approximately $256 billion today.
It manufactures and markets computer software and hardware along with providing hosting and consulting services in areas which may range from large, mainframe computers, to nanotechnology. As of this year, the company holds the record for most patents generated for 25 consecutive years. Some of IBM’s inventions include the floppy disk, hard disk drive, SQL programming language, magnetic stripe card and even the Automated Teller Machine (ATM).
Founded not so long ago, perhaps it is its ‘different’ approach that has led Apple to outshine all other firms in the industry.
With assets at a valuation of $898 billion as of last year, Apple leads the technology market in most of aspects.
It designs, develops and sells computer software, online services, and consumer electronics which include the famous iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook and iWatch to name.
However, as they say, change is constant. Only time will tell which of these firms continues to stand tall and which other giant is yet to rise.