How Intel missed the smartphone market
Expect the same fate for many more tech companies.<p>Although not many people realize, tech is a _mature_ sector of the U.S. economy now - it grows at about 3% a year, pretty much in line with GDP. But the perception is different - just ask your friends - and the reason for this is that there are highly visible _pockets of growth_, like Uber&#x2F;SpaceX&#x2F;name-your-favorite-unicorn, and people often extrapolate their growth to the rest of the industry.<p>Now what happens with many tech companies is that they often have a product with exceptional margins and double-digit growth rate, and it makes sense to invest all the available resources into it - better from ROIC perspective - ignoring all the alternatives which either lack volume or high margin to look attractive. This inevitably leads to problems once your exceptional product stops growing, and you realize you have barely invested in anything else.<p>Just much like Intel with x86 and ARM chips, or Qualcomm, or EMC, or RIM, ... - the list goes on and on.<p>Even when you look at Google, most of their resources are invested into search&#x2F;ad business, so when that&#x27;s stops growing - or, rather, they got all the share from the TV and start growing at a GDP rate - they will be in the same boat.<p>Edit: typos.