21 public company case analyses

SCROLL TO EXPLORE

The best way to see how we think is through case analyses.

Public companies, open sources. Select a card to read the analysis.

How a case analysis is structured

01Context
02Symptom
03Cause
04The fork
05Decision
06Execution
07Outcome
08What it means for you

There are two kinds of material here. We publish client results anonymously and with the clients' consent. We write case analyses of public companies from open sources, in the same way we look at your business. EMET has not worked with those companies.

Eight steps of one case analysis

Example: Apple. Scroll to lay the analysis out step by step.

01ContextIn fiscal 1997 Apple posted a net loss of $1.045 billion.

02SymptomRevenue was falling, products competed with each other, and the team's resources were spread across a large number of projects.

03CauseThe company had no rule for deciding what not to do.

04The forkKeep releasing models for every request from the market, or keep a few products and put everything into them.

05DecisionJobs drew a grid of four cells: consumer and professional, desktop and portable.

06ExecutionProjects that did not fit the grid were cancelled, including devices the market already knew.

07OutcomeIn fiscal 1998 Apple posted net income of $309 million.

08What it means for youCutting works when the company has a rule for choosing.

Strategy and Consulting

Apple. Focus instead of a product line

In 1997 Apple lost more than a billion dollars. A year later it earned $309 million. An analysis of the decision that started the turnaround.

Open case analysis

Management and Development

Wells Fargo. When the metric replaces the result

Bank employees opened accounts without customers' knowledge to hit their quotas. An analysis of what happens when a metric becomes the goal.

Open case analysis

Marketing and Advertising

Avis. An honest second place

The rental company lost money for years and trailed the leader. Advertising that honestly admitted second place took it to profit within a year.

Open case analysis

Sales

Salesforce. Sales as an assembly line of four roles

One salesperson looked for customers, negotiated and handled the deal. An analysis of the model that split this work across four roles.

Open case analysis

Finance and Economics

WeWork. A valuation that did not survive the filings

The company was valued at $47 billion, but after its IPO prospectus was published the valuation fell below $10 billion. An analysis of what the economics of a single office revealed.

Open case analysis

Process Automation

General Motors. Automation without rebuilding the process

In the 1980s GM spent tens of billions of dollars on automation. A plant with simple equipment and a new way of organizing work turned out better. A case analysis.

Open case analysis

Platform Implementation

Hershey. A platform launched at the wrong time

In 1999 Hershey launched new systems before Halloween and could not fill $100 million in orders, even though the goods were in the warehouse. A case analysis.

Open case analysis

Accounting and Financial Records

Wirecard. €1.9 billion that was not there

A payments company in the DAX index reported that €1.9 billion on its accounts probably did not exist. An analysis of why the books are the first thing we check.

Open case analysis

CRM and Customer Systems

Harrah's. The best customers turned out to be different

A casino chain found that its best customers were not the ones everyone thought. An analysis of how a loyalty program became a decision system.

Open case analysis

AI and Technology

Zillow. A model that was given control of the money

Zillow bought homes at prices set by its own algorithm. In 2021 the company shut the business down, wrote off hundreds of millions of dollars and cut a quarter of its staff.

Open case analysis

Business Transformation

Netflix. Changing the model while the old one still works

Netflix moved from DVD rental by mail to streaming and its own series while the old model was still making money. A case analysis with a timeline and sources.

Open case analysis

Business Transformation

Blockbuster. A transition stopped halfway

Blockbuster launched online rental and nearly caught up with Netflix, but the transition proved expensive and the course was changed. A case analysis with a timeline and sources.

Open case analysis

Business Transformation

Nokia. Leadership that drowned out the signals

In 2007 Nokia sold more than half of the world's smartphones, and in 2013 it sold its phone business. A case analysis based on research by INSEAD and Aalto University.

Open case analysis

Business Transformation

Tesla. One system and its price

Tesla combined the car, the software, production and sales into one system. In 2018 the company's head admitted that automation had gone too far. A case analysis.

Open case analysis

Scaling

Starbucks. Scale that diluted the core

In 2008 Starbucks closed 7,100 coffee shops for half a day to retrain baristas, and then about 600 shops for good. An analysis of scale eating the core.

Open case analysis

Scaling

Amazon. Infrastructure that is hard to catch up with

For years Amazon chose long-term investment over attractive quarterly profit. An analysis of how warehouses, the marketplace, Prime and AWS came together into a platform.

Open case analysis

Target in Canada

International Expansion

Target in Canada. A new market without a test

Target opened more than a hundred stores in Canada in a year, and two years later it left, closing 133 stores. An analysis of the scale of entering a new market.

Open case analysis

Business and Product Launch

Quibi. An expensive test instead of a cheap one

The streaming service raised $1.75 billion before launch and closed six months after it. An analysis of the order of tests when launching a product.

Open case analysis

Audit and Diagnostics

LEGO. The audit that started the turnaround

In 2004 LEGO lost 1.9 billion Danish kroner, and in 2005 it made money again. An analysis of how an honest audit showed where the company was losing money.

Open case analysis

Continental Airlines

Crisis Management

Continental Airlines. A crisis left behind through punctuality

In 1994 the airline was on the verge of its third bankruptcy. A year later it made its first profit since 1986. An analysis of the turnaround plan.

Open case analysis

Deals and Business Exit

Yahoo. The offer that was turned down

In 2008 Yahoo turned down Microsoft's offer. Nine years later its core business was sold to Verizon for $4.48 billion. An analysis of how to evaluate an offer to buy.

Open case analysis

Someone else's story helps you recognize the pattern. Your business deserves its own analysis.

Case analyses teach you to see how a symptom leads away from the cause. The next step is to look at your own situation the same way.

Discuss your challengeTake the self-assessment