Thanks for this post.
It's before my time, but gave a great insight.
I suppose then that one way to avoid this behavior is to focus on dividend oriented companies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins
No, it has not "always been this". Nothing could be further from the truth. Not at Boeing, not at a litany of other manufacturers. "This" has largely been the inevitable result of these sorts of companies pushing "shareholder value" beginning in the late 20th century, picking up momentum in the 21st century. Shareholders owning stock in publicly traded companies now expect to make their money through increasing stock prices rather than dividends. It never used to be that way. The artificially escalating "values" of tech stocks during the big tech boom, which engendered the rise of the "day trader", is where this all began. Everyone else had to compete for that interest and, to do so, had to find ways to dramatically raise their stock prices every quarter.
Prior to that, "blue chip" companies, like Boeing, played the long game, providing solid returns via dividends, not stock prices. It was an entirely different game in those days. I had the great good fortune of spending the first 20 years of my career in such a company, one that valued its reputation amongst its customers, and absolutely did not scrimp on quality in anything. I saw it. I lived it. It was far, far different than it is today. So, no, it most vehemently has not "always been this".
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I also wonder how much internet connectivity has altered the landscape.
The speed at which a publication can spread is unmatched, and points of contact beyond the first can go faster and farther with easy forwarding and re-links.
Then there is the added problem that many major corps prioritized social media for research.
Problem is social media means that you may not be getting input from actual customers.
Or worse, many accounts run by a few that work to tilt the scales.
While it shouldn't be ignored, I observe priority was placed too high.