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Out of the companies I named - Apple is over 45 years old and is still creating new market defining products - Microsoft has been around for 45+ years and did

Out of the companies I named - Apple is over 45 years old and is still creating new market defining products - Microsoft has been around for 45+ years and didn’t stay one of the most valuable companies for 25 years by not thinking long term - Amazon Retail is a nothing burger as far as profitability . The future is AWS. (Former AWS employee. I have no love for the company). They have also invested in the long term and still people overwhelmingly shop at Amazon. - Google has always been a rudderless shit show led by executives with the attention span of a crack addled flea - Tesla - I hate to admit it. But they built one of the few hardware based tech startups and you don’t become Tesla with a short term focus. Consumers love Apple and Amazon and Microsoft’s true customers - OEMs - have had a good relationship with MS post the DOJ lawsuit it seems. Shareholders seem to trust the management of those companies as they have pivoted

asoneth 3y ago
I agree that public companies can be successful, have long-term plans, or satisfy stakeholders so evidence of success or longevity or happy customers is not a counterargument. But think of recent decisions that Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, or Tesla have made recently. Are they generally made with the best interests of employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators in mind? Or do they only satisfy those other constituencies insofar as doing so increases profits for shareholders? Ultimately the trust and goodwill they build up is just another asset to leverage to make more money for shareholders. If tomorrow they run the numbers and conclude that the most profitable course of action is to spend down some of that goodwill and screw over employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and/or regulators in exchange for slightly higher profits then they will do that.

asoneth 3y ago

I agree that public companies can be successful, have long-term plans, or satisfy stakeholders so evidence of success or longevity or happy customers is not a counterargument. But think of recent decisions that Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, or Tesla have made recently. Are they generally made with the best interests of employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and regulators in mind? Or do they only satisfy those other constituencies insofar as doing so increases profits for shareholders? Ultimately the trust and goodwill they build up is just another asset to leverage to make more money for shareholders. If tomorrow they run the numbers and conclude that the most profitable course of action is to spend down some of that goodwill and screw over employees, customers, users, partners, developers, and/or regulators in exchange for slightly higher profits then they will do that.