Costco annual revenue

Between 2010 and 2016, BlackBerry's global smartphone market share collapsed from roughly 15% to near zero while Costco's annual revenue grew steadily, producing an inverse correlation of -0.9636 across seven data points. The implication that Costco killed BlackBerry is exactly the kind of theory that makes sense only in a dataset and never in reality. BlackBerry was killed by the iPhone; Costco grew because bulk toilet paper is recession-proof. Seven data points of a tech company dying and a retailer thriving is not a finding. It is two unrelated business stories that happened to share a very specific seven-year window.

BlackBerry's market share declined from roughly 15% in 2010 to under 0.1% by 2016 as the iPhone and Android ecosystem eliminated the need for physical keyboards and BlackBerry's enterprise-focused strategy failed in the consumer market. Costco revenue grew from $77 billion to $118 billion over the same period, driven by membership growth and consumer demand for bulk value. Both are business trajectory stories—one of collapse, one of expansion—across a seven-year window.

Seven data points of one company declining and another growing will produce a strong inverse correlation. The smartphone and the warehouse club share nothing except a brief overlapping window of opposite fortunes.