#12001Enron
Enron hid debt in hundreds of shell companies to look profitable — then imploded
off-balance-sheet shell companies~$70B market cap wiped out
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#22015Volkswagen
Volkswagen programmed 11 million cars to cheat emissions tests
software detecting test cycles$30B+ in fines & buybacks
#31928R&D & Sciencelucky mistake
Fleming went on vacation without washing his petri dishes and came back to penicillin
one unwashed petri dishTwo weeks of unwashed dishes
#41637Trading & Investing
In 1637 the Dutch briefly priced one tulip bulb above an Amsterdam canal house
the next buyer's optimismFortunes on paper · the template for every bubble since
#52016Samsung Electronics
Samsung lost $5.3B and its reputation because it rushed a defective battery to market
missing insulation tape$5.3B financial loss
#62012Knight Capital
Knight Capital lost $440M in 45 minutes because a single server had old trading code
missing deploy flag on 1 of 8 servers$440M in 45 min
#72000AOL
AOL-Time Warner merged for $165B but lost $99B in two years because cultures clashed
a dial-up valuation at the bubble top$99B write-down
#82000Blockbuster
Blockbuster passed on buying Netflix for $50M, then went bankrupt watching it win
ten-minute dismissala $50M price tag on a $100B+ future
#91975Eastman Kodak
Kodak invented the digital camera in 1975, then buried it to protect film
70% film marginsA 132-year-old company · bankruptcy in 2012
#102002Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen shredded Enron documents and destroyed an 89-year-old Big Five firm
a 'document retention' emaila Big Five accounting firm
#112011HP
HP paid $11B for Autonomy, then wrote off $8.8B over cooked books
a 79% premium, thin diligence$8.8B write-down
#121962Decca Records
Decca Records auditioned The Beatles and signed the other band instead
one trend call: 'guitars are done'The most valuable catalogue in pop history
#132020Quibi
Quibi spent $1.75B launching a service nobody wanted because it ignored mobile habits
no way to watch it on a TV$1.75B loss
#141990NASA
Hubble launched with a mirror ground perfectly — to the wrong shape
a worn 1.3mm end cap$1.5B program blurred · 3-year fix
#152013Target
Target pulled out of Canada after a $2B supply chain collapse and data chaos
broken ERP inventory syncC$2B loss, 133 stores closed
#161996ESA
Ariane 5 exploded 37 seconds after launch because of a software overflow error
dead code, running armed$370M rocket
#171999NASA
NASA lost a $327M Mars probe because two teams used different units
two unit systems, one interface$327M mission
#182017GitLab
GitLab deleted its production database, then watched five backup layers fail
db1 and db2, one terminal each6 hours of data · 18-hour outage, live-streamed
#192011Netflix
Netflix split its DVD business into Qwikster, losing 800k subscribers in three weeks
a confusing rebrand name800k subscribers · stock down 75%
#202020Citigroup
Citigroup accidentally wired $900M to Revlon's lenders — a court let them keep it
principal paid instead of interest$900M mistaken wire
#212012J.C. Penney
JCPenney lost $1B in market value because Ron Johnson killed coupons
killing all coupons overnightsales down 25% in one year · CEO out
#221985The Coca-Cola Company
Coca-Cola replaced its own 99-year-old formula, and America revolted for 79 days
200,000 sips, one unasked question$4M development · 79 days of revolt
#232002Bell Labs
A Bell Labs physicist faked breakthroughs across 28 papers — physics' biggest fraud
identical noise in two experiments28 retracted papers
#241976Apple
Apple's third founder sold his 10% for $800 after twelve days
twelve nervous days10% of Apple, sold for $2,300 all-in
#252007Circuit City
Circuit City fired its 3,400 best-paid salespeople to cut costs — and killed the company
firing 3,400 top earnerscompany death (2009)
#262021Better.com
Better.com CEO fired 900 employees on a Zoom call without warning
one zoom call, one mute button900 jobs on one call · CEO's leave of absence
#272018Tesla
Elon Musk's 'funding secured' tweet cost him $40M and his chairmanship
'funding secured' with no funding$40M fines + chairmanship
#281940Engineering & Operations
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge galloped in the wind for four months, then tore itself apart
a bounce everyone got used to$6.4M bridge · one dog · a discipline's confidence
#292014Amazon
Amazon burned $170M on the Fire Phone — great gimmicks, no app ecosystem
no Google Play, $650 price tag$170M write-down
#301992Hoover
Hoover offered free transatlantic flights with any £100 vacuum — Britain did the math
£600 of flights on a £100 vacuum£48M · its European business
#312010Gap
Gap replaced its 20-year-old logo, and un-replaced it six days later
generic sans-serif fonta ~$100M rebrand effort · 6 days