Will today’s tech giants reach a century? It’s all about the quality of the product | John Naughton

If you want to be an internet-age version of General Motors or IBM, you need to sell something people want and steer clear of political pitfalls

A question: what's the average lifespan of an American company? Not any old company, mind, but one big enough to figure in Standard and Poor's index of the 500 largest. The answer is surprising: the seven-year rolling average stands at 19.9 years. Way back in 1965 it was 32 years and the projections are that the downward trend will continue.

Remember that we're talking averages here. The trend doesn't mean that no companies currently extant will get to their first century. Some almost certainly will, as some have in the past: AT&T, for example, is 137 years old; General Electric is 130; Ford is 119; IBM is 111; and General Motors is 106. But most companies wither or are gobbled up long before they qualify for a telegram from the president.