Companies That Bounced Back From The Brink of Major Financial Crisis

Year Of Crisis: 1980s
Current Value: $13.137 billion* 

American Airlines is the largest airline in the world when you measure it by passengers carried, revenue per mile, and fleet size. American Airlines went through a rough patch in the 1980s, several decades after it was founded. The airline experienced a period of revenue loss, followed by a disastrous attempt to create revenue through “lifetime passes,” which only led to more loss.

American Airlines ©GagliardiPhotography/Shutterstock.com

American Airlines was able to turn it around in the 1990s. In addition to a favorable business climate and lower fuel prices, American Airlines bought $445 million in assets from its competitor, T.W.A., giving it access to London Heathrow. This helped the airline shake off the downturn that had hit many other airlines. 150 airlines went out of business after the 1970s, but Americanwas not one of them.

Year Of Crisis: 2008-2009 (Tribune Media Bankruptcy)
Current Value: $3.36 billion* 

The Chicago Cubs’ eras can be divided into three time periods: the Wrigley Years from 1921 until 1945, the Tribune Years from 1981-2008, and the Ricketts Era, from 2009 until now. As MLB fans know, you’re not going to have a five-star season every year, but the Cubs’ bad luck streak seemed unending for a while.

Chicago Cubs ©Keeton Gale / Shutterstock.com

The Tribune Years ended badly for the Cubs, when Tribune Media went bankrupt. The Ricketts family, headed by Thomas S. Ricketts, the owner of Incapital LLC, acquired a majority interest in the team in 2009. The Cubs began a turnaround, taking 2010 through 2014 to rebuild. In 2016, the Cubs finished the season with the best record in the MLB. 

Year Of Crisis: 2008-2014
Current Value: $30.91 billion* 

Chrysler, one of America’s “Big Three” auto manufacturers, has a comeback story that is similar, in a lot of ways, to General Motors. Chrysler was hugely impacted by the financial crisis of 2008, and it struggled from 2008 to 2010 to stay in business.

Chrysler @jeepworld / Pinterest.com

Chrysler was able to survive the rough period through a combination of Chapter 11 restructuring and reorganization (for which it filed on April 30, 2008), a federal bailout through T.A.R.P., and negotiations with creditors. Chrysler defaulted on more than $4 billion in debts, and it took the automaker until 2011 to finish repaying the government. In 2014, Fiat bought Chrysler, and that set up the company to chart a major comeback that has lasted until the present. 

Year Of Crisis: 1973-1978
Current Value: $53.589 billion* 

Nintendo owns a huge share of the world’s gaming market, and it’s hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of the tech company before. Originally, Nintendo was founded in the late 1800s as a playing card company. Over time, it evolved, producing famous franchises like Mario and Super Smash Bros, among dozens of others.

Nintendo Switch ©Natalia Lobon / Shutterstock.com

In the 1970s, Nintendo’s fate wasn’t so clear. Nintendo’s products weren’t as good as their competitors because of slow production speeds, and the oil crisis led to some Nintendo subsidiaries closing. In 1979, two key events pulled Nintendo out of the slump and put it on the path to becoming what it is today. First, it opened a subsidiary in New York City, marking its first American expansion. Second, the Game & Watch, one of the world’s first-ever handheld gaming systems, was invented and became one of the company’s most successful products.

Year Of Crisis: 1989-2001
Current Value: $152.48 million* 

Converse is one of the easiest shoe brands to recognize, thanks to its canvas structure and distinctive look. Converse had decades of success, from its founding in 1941 to its success in the 1980s, but it ran into trouble when it became overly dependent on its All Stars brand. When All Stars’ market collapsed, Converse’s debt piled up.

Converse @moorrese / Pinterest.com

The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001. It closed down its manufacturing plants in the U.S. a few months later. The company was bought out by Marsden Cason and Bill Simon, who led a brand turnaround that ended with Nike purchasing Converse for $309 million in 2003. Nike further revived the brand, turning it into what it is today.

Year Of Crisis: 2003
Current Value: $14.6 billion*

LEGO, a Danish company, is the largest toy manufacturer in the world, as of 2021. The company has been around since the late 1940s, and it has produced toys that nearly every kid in the world has played with, in some capacity. LEGO had a huge downturn in 2003, when it found itself $800 million in debt.

Lego @LEGO / Facebook.com

LEGO was able to pull itself out of this pit by changing the CEO. Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, came on board and changed LEGO’s focus to its most successful products, reducing the product lineup and streamlining production. The company also adapted to the digital world, changing its business model to stay relevant, while still keeping its true audience in mind.

Year Of Crisis: 2007-2008
Current Value: $130.88 billion* 

On Fortune 500, Starbucks is ranked at number fourteen, and, on the Forbes Global 2000, the company is ranked at number 288. It seems like there is a Starbucks on every corner these days, and the company has a brand recognized all over the world. In 2007, things were far different for the coffee chain, as it was just months from bankruptcy.

Starbucks @allyssajeyms / Twitter.com

In 2008, Starbucks was hit hard by the economic crisis, as consumer patterns had changed. It was estimated that the chain was seven months from filing for Chapter 11. Starbucks acted quickly, putting former CEO Howard Schultz back as the leader of the brand. Schultz immediately closed all stores to refocus on “demonstrating [Starbucks’] conscience as a company.” He spoke to all 11,000 store managers in person to help figure out how to improve the brand. It worked, and Starbucks is now a massive success story.

Year Of Crisis: 2008-2010
Current Value: $85.593 billion* 

As Business Insider put it, General Motors went from bankruptcy to the “best-run car company” in the industry today. General Motors was hit extremely hard by the financial crisis of 2008. In 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy, citing $173 billion in debts and $82 billion in assets. At the time, the GM bankruptcy was the largest in industrial history.

General Motors @rdegiorgi53 / Pinterest.com

General Motors was reorganized under Chapter 11, and the federal government undertook an emergency intervention to prevent losing a premier industry. GM emerged from the restructuring with a new business plan and a different bureaucracy. The new management worked wonders, and General Motors was able to get back on track.

Year Of Crisis: 2012
Current Value: $16.074 billion* (United)

When you talk about Continental Airlines as a standalone brand, you have to use the past tense. Continental, founded in the 1930s, was a major American airline. For fifty years, things ran pretty smoothly. In the 1980s, Continental merged with Texas International Airlines.

Continental Airlines @maureenbwithers / Pinterest.com

Though that would lead to Continental becoming one of the U.S.’s largest carriers, financial and labor issues loomed large for the company. Continental declared bankruptcy in 1983, and it reduced its services by 66%. In 2012, the airline ceased doing business under its own brand, and that was its saving grace, as it was able to merge with United Airlines and avoid total collapse and the loss of all of its assets.

Year Of Crisis: 2005-2017
Current Value: $49.08 billion* 

If you’ve ever taken an accounting course, chances are that AIG (American International Group) has popped up as an example of what not to do. The finance and insurance company was founded in the early 1900s, and it underwent several reorganizations over the decades. AIG hit a boom in the early 2000s, but that was cut short with the revelation of an accounting scandal in 2005.

AIG @amysharpton / Pinterest.com

AIG was fined $1.6 billion for fraud by the federal government, and its fortune went even further downhill in 2008, when the economic crisis hit. AIG had to be bailed out, and it took them until 2017 to de-risk the company. In 2019, new management at AIG set forth a turnaround strategy that has delivered solid growth, marking a comeback for an institution once deemed too-big-to-fail. 

Year Of Crisis: 1981-2000
Current Value: $207.218 billion* 

Texaco is part of Chevron, and its years of crisis were a little different than those of a lot of companies on this list. The oil brand was founded in the early 1900s, and it’s been a wild ride ever since then. The Texaco now is far different from the one from the 1980s and 1990s. It was heavily damaged by a Pennzoil verdict in 1985, which awarded Pennzoil $10.53 billion because of a contract dispute.

Texaco @larealnoticia / Pinterest.com

This verdict led to Texaco filing for bankruptcy in 1987. That bankruptcy was the largest in U.S. history for fourteen years. In the 1990s, though Texaco had recovered, it still had to face some unsteady times. In 2000, Chevron bought Texaco and put an end to two decades of chaos. 

Year Of Crisis: 2001
Current Value: $77.73 million* 

Imperial Sugar was founded in the 1800s, and it’s one of the oldest companies in America. The sugar company passed through several owners until it was purchased by the Kempner family in Galveston, Texas in 1907. Since then, Imperial has gone through many ownership changes and acquisitions.

Imperial Sugar @Mari26morena / Twitter.com

Imperial hit a huge boom in the 1980s, starting a major expansion that began in 1988. However, it expanded too quickly, and the Mondelez competitor declared bankruptcy in 2001. It emerged a few months later and began downsizing, a move that saved Imperial from folding completely. The company went private in 2012 when it was purchased by the Netherlands’ Louis Dreyfus Group.   

Year Of Crisis: 1996-1998
Current Value: $50 billion* 

Marvel’s most superhero-esque feat was saving itself from complete collapse in the 1990s. The comic book brand is a dominant player in the American entertainment landscape, with films and TV shows grossing billions of dollars for the Disney-owned company.

Marvel ©Ki young / Shutterstock.com

It’s hard to imagine a time when Marvel wasn’t on top, but, in 1996, the corporation filed for bankruptcy. Marvel had no revenue, and it had yet to make a successful movie. The film industry was where Marvel put all of its focus, and it took a $525 million loan to license its own intellectual property to make movies. The risk paid off, and early Marvel hits like Blade, X-Men, and Spider-Man were able to turn Marvel around and put it on the path to feats like the Avengers franchise. 

Year Of Crisis: 1990-1992
Current Value: $102.76 billion* 

Headquartered in New York, IBM is a tech corporation that has operations in more than 170 countries. The company was founded in 1911, originally as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording-Company, and was named IBM (International Business Machines) in 1924. 

IBM ©Laborant / Shutterstock.com

IBM lost a lot of money in the 1990s. In 1992, it reported a loss of $8.10 billion, which was the largest ever reported by an American company. IBM decided it needed a change, and, in 1993, it appointed Lou Gerstner, an outsider with no computing experience, as its CEO. Gerstner turned IBM around, cutting expenses and selling assets. In 2002, he retired after not only making IBM solvent, but turning it into a hugely profitable entity.