When I was a teenager, I had a plastic camera that took 110 film cartridges. I snapped random shots on our vacations or during the typical teenage events at the time.
I always bought Kodak film cartridges. I didn’t know there were any other brands.
You also knew Kodak and you also bought their film. They were ubiquitous. At its height in the mid-90s, Kodak had revenues of around $16 billion. Almost $11 billion came from selling and processing film.
Did you know Kodak invented the first digital camera? They also were the technology leaders in the space in the 80s and 90s.
But then they tanked their digital technology. On purpose.
Smart people decided that it would be dumb to cannibalize the core of the company. Why push digital photography when we make all of our money on film? What would the street think?
Makes sense. Hard to argue and easy to make the case.
Especially if you view your business through the 3-month lens of the public trading floor.
There’s no unexpected plot twist coming. You know how it ends for Kodak. They still exist, but its been a rough ride. They’ve been through bankruptcy and in 2023, brought in around $1 billion (and trending down). They’ve turned into primarily a commercial printing and chemical company.
The trouble with the 3-month lens is that it demands output and success right away. Make the decision that maximizes the next 3 months.
The future be damned.
