The shockingly short life spans of publicly traded firms - USA TODAY
The shockingly short life spans of publicly traded firms From the moment we're born our biological ticker starts counting down the days until, well, you know. Turns out publicly traded companies are like any other living organism governed by Mother Nature. ly/1HyuQ5p From the moment we're born our biological ticker starts counting down the days until, well, you know. Turns out publicly traded companies are like any other living organism governed by Mother Nature. Based on a study out of the Santa Fe Institute , organized by a crew of theoretical physicists , an anthropologist and an economic intern, these types of firms die off at roughly the same rate regardless of size, sector or even how... That the probability of failure is the same for everyone is "the most surprising thing they found," says Robert Axtell, who teaches mathematical modeling of social and economic processes at George Mason University. While the causes of death can vary from being bought up (the most common), merging with another company or filing for bankruptcy, in the end the odds of heading to the incinerator are the same for all of 'em. More OZY stories you may like:. Considering how much money is on the line — the total worth of companies on the New York Stock Exchange is more than $16 trillion, almost as much as the entire U. S. GDP — it's surprising how little research has been done on what those in the... Some say young, less entrenched companies are most vulnerable, while others say it's the elderly and less agile that need to watch out. Source: www.usatoday.com
