Theresa Teutul was an executive with Digital Industries, a leading manufacturer of color televisions. She recognized that the color television market in the late 1970s was facing significant challenges. After two decades of highly successful development and marketing, the sales of color televisions had slowed and replacing older color television sets largely created her market. Using the logic of the BCG matrix, Theresa should recognize that her strategic business unit was in which quadrant?

The cash cow is a metaphor for a cash cow that produces milk throughout its life and requires little maintenance. A cash cow is an example of a cash cow, since after the initial capital outlay has been paid, the cow continues to produce milk for many years. These cash generators can also use their money to repurchase shares in the market or pay dividends to shareholders.

A cash cow is a company or business unit in a mature, slow-growing industry. Milk cows have a large market share and require little investment. For example, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is considered a cash cow because it has established a well-defined niche in wireless gadgets. The different Apple product lines generate cash for other business lines at the beginning of their life cycle. On the contrary, a star is a company or business unit that operates in a high-growth industry. Question marks are the problematic son of the BCG shared growth matrix. They operate in high-growth markets and require capital to grow, but the probability of success is unknown. Dogs do not require much cash, but due to age, they tend to absorb large portions of capital.