Ins and Outs
A guide to every company that has ever been in the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(c) 1996 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Original Dow 12
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American Cotton Oil
American Sugar Refining Co.
American Tobacco
Chicago Gas
Distilling & Cattle Feeding Co.
General Electric Co.
Laclede Gas Light Co.
National Lead
North American Co.
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.
U.S. Leather
U.S. Rubber Co.
It's easy to see the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a monolith. Each day, the average rises, falls, stays flat. Always meaningful, perhaps, but always obscuring the faces behind the wall.
What follows is an attempt to peer, if only for a while, into those faces. Many are instantly familiar. Others might be recognized only by dedicated business wonks: quaint-sounding companies such as American Cotton Oil and Distilling & Cattle Feeding Co.
But, given the serpentine paths these companies have taken over the years, even that distinction is misleading. The two apparent obscurities mentioned above, for example, became CPC International Inc. and Quantum Chemical Corp.
Here, then, is the genealogy of the Dow, along with a comparison of each company's stock performance (excluding dividends) while in the industrial average with the DJIA's performance for the same period. (The companies' performance figures have been adjusted to reflect any stock splits, though stock prices are the actual closing prices for the dates given, regardless of splits.)
American Cotton Oil
5/26/1896 (in): $12.50
4/1/01 (out): $26.50
Performance: 112%
DJIA Performance: 73%
founded in 1889 as a successor to the American Cotton Oil Trust, the company went through a number of incarnations after being dropped from the industrial average. In 1923, it sold the cotton-seed-oil business and formed Gold Dust Corp., a soap maker. In 1936, Gold Dust was renamed Hecker Products Corp. In 1942, Hecker acquired and took the name of Best Foods Inc., which merged with Corn Products Refining Co. in 1958 to become Corn Products Co. The last name change came in 1969: CPC International Inc. CPC is now based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
American Sugar Refining Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $122.75
7/18/30 (out): $53.50
Performance: -56%
DJIA Performance: 488%
American Sugar, incorporated in 1891, continued the business through a name change to American Sugar Co. in 1963 and Amstar Corp. in 1970, distributing its products under the Domino brand name. In 1984, Amstar was taken private, and in 1988 it sold its sugar business to Tate & Lyle PLC, a British sugar refiner and distributor. After the sale, Amstar became essentially a holding company for Milwaukee Electric Tool Co. In 1993, Amstar merged with Essex Industries, a lock and door company, to form Esstar Corp. Last year, Esstar sold Milwaukee Electric Tool to Sweden's Atlas Copco, then changed its name to Essex Industries. In December, Essex agreed to be acquired by Assa Abloy, a Swedish lock maker.
American Tobacco
5/26/1896 (in): $66.50
4/21/1899 (out): $224.50
Performance: 238%
DJIA Performance: 87%
1/22/24 (in): $149.25
10/1/28 (out): $166
Performance: 11%
DJIA Performance: 160%
Class B:
10/1/28 (in): $165.50
7/18/30 (out): $144
Performance: -13%
DJIA Performance: 0.2%
5/26/32 (in): $53.25
10/30/85 (out): $57.50
Performance: 764%
DJIA Performance: 2,652%
American Tobacco was formed in 1890 by James B. Duke, as a consolidation of the principal cigarette factories in the U.S. The company grew to be a monopoly, buying up competitors and exercising tight control over pricing. In 1904, American Tobacco merged with its holding company, Continental Tobacco Co. The federal government broke up the massive operation under the Sherman Antitrust law in 1911, freeing up former holdings such as Liggett & Myers Co., P. Lorillard Co. and R.J. Reynolds. A company called American Tobacco survived the breakup; in 1966, it began diversifying into consumer goods and soon changed its name to American Brands Inc. Now based in Old Greenwich, Conn., the company sold its tobacco operations to B.A.T Industries PLC in 1994.
Chicago Gas
5/26/1896 (in): $67.50
3/24/1898 (out): $109
Performance: 29%
DJIA Performance: 4.4%
Incorporated in 1855, Chicago Gas was one of a host of utilities absorbed by Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. in 1897 as part of a massive industry consolidation. Peoples Gas, renamed Peoples Energy Corp. in 1980, is based in Chicago and is the holding company for two local utilities.
Distilling & Cattle Feeding Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $17.75
4/21/1899 (out): $14.50
Performance: -18%
DJIA Performance: 87%
8/13/34 (in): $19
6/1/59 (out): $31.125
Performance: 412%
DJIA Performance: 612%
The company was formed in 1890 as a successor to the Distillers & Cattle Feeders Trust. In the late 1890s, it ran into antitrust trouble and was broken up, with a handful of the operations continuing under the umbrella of American Spirits Manufacturing Co. To cope with Prohibition, American Spirits became U.S. Food Products Corp. In 1924, U.S. Food restructured, becoming National Distillers & Chemical Corp. In 1988, National Distillers sold its liquor business to American Brands and changed its name to Quantum Chemical Corp., moving entirely into the chemical and energy businesses. In 1993, Quantum was acquired by Britain's Hanson PLC. Earlier this year, Hanson announced plans to split itself into four businesses, including an independently traded chemical company.
General Electric Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $33.375
9/14/1898 (out): $44.75
Performance: -20%
DJIA Performance: 40%
4/21/1899 (in): $119.50
4/1/01 (out): $218
Performance: 82%
DJIA Performance: -7.6%
11/7/07 (in): $110.50
5/24/96: $85
Performance: 21,999%
DJIA Performance: 10,120%
This industrial giant was formed 104 years ago by the merger of Thomas-Houston Electric Co., Thomas-Houston International Electric Co. and Edison General Electric Co., which had been founded by the polymath inventor. One of the company's most important moves came in 1919, when it joined with other technology businesses to form Radio Corp. of America, which took over the assets of Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. of America. GE, based in New York, would eventually bring RCA back into the fold, acquiring it in 1986.
Laclede Gas Light Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $24
4/21/1899 (out): $108
Performance: 350%
DJIA Performance: 63%
Formed in 1857, Laclede dominated the natural-gas business in St. Louis as late as 1942. It began by providing gas-powered street lamps to the city, then evolved into a full-scale utility in the 1950s as residential demand for gas power skyrocketed. Laclede Gas Co., which dropped the "Light" from its name in 1950, is still active in the distribution and transportation of gas power, and is still based in St. Louis.
National Lead
5/26/1896 (in): $24.875
10/4/16 (out): $70.50
Performance: 183%
DJIA Performance: 153%
National Lead, a producer of lead and other chemicals, was incorporated in 1891. In 1971, the company changed its name to NL Industries Inc. Based in Houston, NL is now a world-wide producer and marketer of pigments, dyes and specialty chemicals.
North American Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $5.50
8/26/1896 (out): $4.50
Performance: -18%
DJIA Performance: -26%
10/1/28 (in): $74
1/29/30 (out): $98.25
Performance: 33%
DJIA Performance: 9.2%
North American financed and controlled street railways, and natural-gas and electricity businesses, from 1890 to 1955. But then the company was dissolved, and one of its units, St. Louis-based Union Electric Co., took control of its assets. Today, Union Electric is awaiting regulatory approval of a proposed $1.2 billion merger with Cipsco Inc., a utility based in Springfield, Ill. The merger is expected to be completed next year.
Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $25.75
11/7/07 (out): $101
Performance: 292%
DJIA Performance: 38%
Formed as Sewanee Mining Co. in 1852, the company was reorganized and incorporated in 1860 as Tennessee Coal & Railroad Co. The "Iron" was added in 1881. U.S. Steel Corp. bought the company in the Panic of 1907--J.P. Morgan, who ran U.S. Steel, agreed to rescue the economy, and trustbuster Theodore Roosevelt agreed not to object to the buyout. Tennessee Coal was a unit and then a division of U.S. Steel until 1964, when it and other operating divisions were merged into the parent company.
U.S. Leather
Preferred:
5/26/1896 (in): $64.50
4/1/05 (out): $108.875
Performance: 69%
DJIA Performance: 73%
U.S. Leather was one of the nation's largest shoemakers in the first decades of this century. It was succeeded in 1905 by Central Leather Co., and in a 1927 reorganization the company changed its name back to U.S. Leather. The company was dissolved in 1952.
U.S. Rubber Co.
5/26/1896 (in): $23.125
11/10/1896 (out): $26.75
Performance: 16%
DJIA Performance: 8.8%
9/14/1898 (in): $41.75
10/1/28 (out): $38.625
Performance: -7.5%
DJIA Performance: 318%
Preferred:
4/1/05 (in): $115
3/16/15 (out): $102.625
Performance: -11%
DJIA Performance: -20%
U.S. Rubber was formed as a consolidation of nine domestic makers of rubber products in March 1892. The company, which had tire, plastic and chemical businesses, changed its name to Uniroyal Inc. in April 1966. In 1985, Uniroyal, based in Middlebury, Conn., spent $950 million to fight off a takeover bid, and the next year, the company chose to liquidate, selling more than $1 billion of subsidiaries. Uniroyal's tire division merged with B.F. Goodrich Co.'s tire division to become Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., which was acquired by France's Groupe Michelin in 1990. Uniroyal's chemical division became Uniroyal Chemical Inc., purchased by Avery Inc. but then taken private in 1989 in a management-led buyout. Renamed Uniroyal Chemical Corp., it went public in March 1995, and then agreed earlier this month to be acquired by Crompton & Knowles Corp., a specialty chemical maker based in Stamford, Conn.
U.S. Cordage
Preferred:
8/26/1896 (in): $6.50
12/23/1896 (out): $10.125
Performance: 56%
DJIA Performance: 31%
The history of the U.S. rope industry at the turn of the century is not a pretty one. U.S. Cordage was created as a reorganization of the National Cordage Co. trust, which went under--messily--during the stock-market panic of 1893. The successor company didn't fare much better: After blunders by the new management, it failed in 1895. Yet another reorganization followed. A new company, Standard Rope & Twine, eventually ended up as a successor to U.S. Cordage's operations.
Pacific Mail Steamship Co.
11/10/1896 (in): $25.25
4/1/01 (out): $36
Performance: 43%
DJIA Performance: 59%
This shipping and transportation company, incorporated in 1848, carried people, goods and mail from San Francisco to Asia and South America, adding San Francisco-to-New York routes in the 1920s. Up to the '20s, many Chinese immigrants entered the U.S. on Pacific Mail freighters. In 1938, the company changed its name to American President Lines. Now based in Oakland, American President Cos. sails out of Los Angeles and Seattle.
Standard Rope & Twine Co.
12/23/1896 (in): $10
4/21/1899 (out): $11.375
Performance: 14%
DJIA Performance: 93%
More messiness with rope. Formed in 1895 as part of the U.S. Cordage collapse, Standard Rope & Twine took over its predecessor's business by the end of 1896. Standard Rope lasted longer than U.S. Cordage, but also ended messily, collapsing in 1905. The string of bad luck didn't end there: The successor to Standard Rope, Standard Cordage Co., was liquidated in 1912.
Peoples Gas
3/24/1898 (in): $86.75
10/4/16 (out): $109
Performance: 26%
DJIA Performance: 142%
See Chicago Gas.
Continental Tobacco Co.
4/21/1899 (in): $63.938
7/1/01 (out): $68.50
Performance: 7.1%
DJIA Performance: 0.5%
Formed in 1898 as a holding company for James B. Duke's American Tobacco Co., Continental was merged into its parent in 1904.
Federal Steel
4/21/1899 (in): $68
4/1/01 (out): $55
Performance: -19%
DJIA Performance: -7.6%
The steelmaker was organized in 1898 in a merger of Illinois Steel Co. and other companies, a transaction bankrolled by J.P. Morgan. Judge Elbert H. Gary, who had been an Illinois Steel director, became Federal's first president. In 1901, Mr. Morgan bought out Andrew Carnegie's steel business and combined it with Federal Steel, American Steel & Wire Co. and several other companies to form U.S. Steel Corp. Judge Gary became its first chairman.
American Steel & Wire Co.
4/21/1899 (in): $66.40
4/1/01 (out): $49.125
Performance: -26%
DJIA Performance: -7.6%
Created in 1897 and incorporated the next year, American Steel & Wire was one of the companies that merged to form U.S. Steel in 1901. In 1986, it was sold to Chicago West Pullman Corp. The company had a public offering in 1988, and was acquired by Birmingham Steel Corp. in 1993.
Amalgamated Copper
4/1/01 (in): $100.375
7/29/15 (out): $73
Performance: -27%
DJIA Performance: 6.9%
Amalgamated Copper, incorporated in 1899, was a holding company for several mining companies. In 1915, Amalgamated was dissolved, and Anaconda Copper Mining Co. took over its operations. In January 1929, Anaconda purchased what it called the world's largest copper-producing mine: the Chuquicamata mine in Chile. In 1971, when the mine was confiscated by the Chilean government, Anaconda lost two-thirds of its copper production. A unit of Atlantic Richfield Co. purchased Anaconda Copper Co. in 1971, for $700 million. Two years later, Arco split Anaconda into two divisions: Anaconda Copper, the mining company, and Anaconda Industries, a manufacturer. Over the next decade, Arco sold its Anaconda interests in several pieces. The only remaining element of Anaconda is Arco Aluminum Co. in Logan, Ky.
American Smelting & Refining
4/1/01 (in): $55
6/1/59 (out): $46.25
Performance: 531%
DJIA Performance: 808%
Incorporated in 1899, American Smelting & Refining had mining operations in Colorado and Mexico in addition to its plants in Nebraska, Montana and Texas. In 1975, the company changed its name to Asarco Inc. The company remains a leading producer of nonferrous metals, mining about 12% of the Western world's copper, 10% of its silver and 21% of its lead.
International Paper Co.
Preferred:
4/1/01 (in): $79.875
7/1/01 (out): $77
Performance: -3.6%
DJIA Performance: 8.7%
Common:
7/3/56 (in): $137
5/24/96: $41.50
Performance: 264%
DJIA Performance: 1,062%
Formed in 1898 as a consolidation of 18 paper mills across the Northeast, International Paper ventured north of the border in the 1920s, moving its newsprint operations to Canada and founding Canadian International Paper Co. The company entered the oil business in 1975, buying up General Crude Oil Co., but sold the oil and gas operations to Mobil Oil Corp. four years later. International Paper, now based in Purchase, N.Y., is one of the world's leading producers of printing and writing paper, as well as other wood products, with 1995 sales of $19.8 billion.
U.S. Steel Corp.
Common:
4/1/01 (in): $48.57
5/6/91 (out): $32.875
Performance: 509%
DJIA Performance: 4,048%
Preferred:
4/1/01 (in): $96.80
10/4/16 (out): $121
Performance: 25%
DJIA Performance: 46%
J.P. Morgan's U.S. Steel was incorporated in 1901 as a consolidation of several steelmakers, and snapped up others in years to follow. The company, the largest in the nation at that time, also owned an extensive--and highly profitable--system of railroads, as well as interests in ocean shipping, machinery, cement, heavy construction, home building and retailing. The company acquired Marathon Oil in 1982 and Texas Oil & Gas in 1986, after which it changed its name to USX Corp. In 1991 and 1992, USX made its units publicly traded. Today, there are common stocks for USX-U.S. Steel Group, USX-Marathon Group and USX-Delhi Group, a natural-gas provider. USX itself isn't traded. While U.S. Steel remains the nation's biggest steelmaker, Marathon makes up about two-thirds of USX's sales.
American Car Foundry
7/1/01 (in): $27.50
10/1/28 (out): $96.50
Performance: 251%
DJIA Performance: 211%
In 1899, 13 independent railroad-car builders merged to form American Car Foundry. By 1928, the company had moved into trucks and auto parts; at the time of its name change to ACF Industries Inc. in 1968, it also made oil-industry equipment and specialized plastics. The company was bought by Carl Icahn's I.C. Holding Co. in 1984.
Colorado Fuel & Iron
7/1/01 (in): $113
5/12/12 (out): $29.50
Performance: -74%
DJIA Performance: 16%
Formed as a consolidation of Colorado Coal & Iron Co. and Colorado Fuel Co., this maker of steel products was incorporated in 1892. In 1966, the company changed its name to CF&I Steel Corp. It was acquired by Crane Co. in 1969 and spun off to shareholders in 1985. CF&I filed for bankruptcy protection in 1990, and was purchased by Oregon Steel Mills Inc. in 1993.
Central Leather Co.
5/12/12 (in): $25.25
1/22/24 (out): $16.50
Performance: -35%
DJIA Performance: 8.6%
See U.S. Leather.
General Motors Corp.
3/16/15 (in): $103.25
10/4/16 (out): $151
Performance: 46%
DJIA Performance: 83%
8/31/25 (in): $88.375
5/24/96: $55.25
Performance: 11,153%
DJIA Performance: 3,982%
Established in 1908, GM became the nation's leading car maker by the early 1930s, surpassing Ford Motor Co. By that time, the car maker had acquired its best-known brands, such as Cadillac and Chevrolet. (The Buick line was part of the company from its inception.) Over the decades, the Detroit-based company has amassed a long list of technological advances, including the V-8 engine, which it introduced in 1914, and the automatic transmission, in 1948. But management missteps and growing competition in the 1970s and 1980s left GM in financial jeopardy by the early 1990s. That prompted a board-led management shake-up and a sweeping reorganization that returned GM to financial health by the end of 1995.
Anaconda Copper Mining Co.
7/29/15 (in): $68
8/31/25 (out): $41.25
Performance: -39%
DJIA Performance: 86%
6/1/59 (in): $65.50
8/9/76 (out): $28.875
Performance: -12%
DJIA Performance: 53%
See Amalgamated Copper.
American Can Co.
10/4/16 (in): $54.50
5/6/91 (out): $30.125
Performance: 1,227%
DJIA Performance: 2,745%
American Can was formed in 1901, after a consolidation of several leading container factories. It bought Dixie Cup Co. and Marathon Corp. in 1957, expanding its business to a wide range of paper goods. Over the next three decades, it moved into a variety of other businesses, merging with companies as diverse as Hansen Van Winkle Mining Co. and Sam Goody Inc., a recorded-music retailer. In 1986, American Can changed its name to Primerica; the following year, it acquired Smith Barney. In December 1988, Commercial Credit Co. acquired Primerica, adopting its name; by that time, the company was almost exclusively involved in financial services. The new Primerica acquired Travelers Corp. in 1992 and 1993 and renamed itself Travelers Inc. Also in 1993, the company bought the U.S. retail brokerage and asset-management businesses of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. and merged the operations with its Smith Barney unit. Last year, the company renamed itself again: Travelers Group Inc.
American Beet Sugar Co.
10/4/16 (in): $98
3/1/20 (out): $79
Performance: -19%
DJIA Performance: -11%
American Beet Sugar was founded in California in the late 1890s by the Oxnard brothers (the boom town that grew up around the first factory took their name). The company name gave way to American Crystal Sugar Co. in 1934. The company was bought out by a group of growers in the early 1970s, and today, still under the American Crystal Sugar name, it is one of the leading sugar cooperatives in the U.S. It is based in Moorhead, Minn.
American Locomotive
10/4/16 (in): $83
10/1/28 (out): $98
Performance: 136%
DJIA Performance: 132%
Incorporated in 1901, American Locomotive dominated the U.S. steam-locomotive industry for decades. In 1929, the company bought diesel-engine maker McIntosh & Seymour. During World War II, Alco produced more than $1 billion in materials for the Allied effort, but the company fell behind competitors after the war. In 1955, as part of a diversification, the company changed its name to Alco Products Inc. After passing through a series of owners, the company, by now called Alco Power Inc., was bought by Bombardier Inc. of Canada in 1984.
American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
10/4/16 (in): $133
10/1/28 (out): $179
Performance: 35%
DJIA Performance: 132%
3/14/39 (in): $153
1/4/84 (out): $64.375
Performance: -58%
DJIA Performance: 740%
"New" AT&T:
1/4/84 (in): $17.750
5/24/96: $62.875
Performance: 254.2%
DJIA Performance: 354%
American Telephone & Telegraph began in 1885 as a successor company to Alexander Graham Bell's eponymous phone company, later merged with equipment pioneer Western Electric Co. AT&T came to dominate the U.S. phone business until federal antitrust authorities moved against it. To settle that antitrust suit, AT&T broke itself up at the start of 1984, remaining in the long-distance and equipment businesses and spinning off the seven giant regional Bell phone companies. Under stiff competition from a host of rivals in communication services, AT&T expanded in computers by acquiring NCR Corp. in 1991 and in wireless services by purchasing McCaw Cellular Communications Inc. in 1994. Its name since shortened to plain AT&T Corp., the New York-based company in late 1995 moved to break itself up again later this year. AT&T will stay in communications and other services and is spinning off its telephone-equipment and computer businesses.
Baldwin Locomotive Works
10/4/16 (in): $90.875
8/31/25 (out): $116
Performance: 28%
DJIA Performance: 37%
Formed in 1831 by jeweler Matthias Baldwin, the maker of locomotives and industrial equipment became one of the biggest and most widely known steam-engine makers of the 19th century. The company changed its name to Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp. in 1950 after acquiring Lima-Hamilton Corp. BLH was bought by meatpacker Armour & Co. in 1965, which was subsequently merged into a subsidiary of Greyhound Corp. in 1970.
B.F. Goodrich Co.
10/4/16 (in): $75
1/22/24 (out): $24.25
Performance: -68%
DJIA Performance: -6%
10/1/28 (in): $83.75
7/18/30 (out): $30
Performance: -64%
DJIA Performance: 0.2%
Formed in 1870 as Goodrich, Tew & Co.--a partnership between Benjamin Franklin Goodrich and his brother-in-law, Harvey W. Tew--the company shortened its name 10 years later. Goodrich researchers have been credited with designing and producing the tires used on the first gasoline-powered car, developing polyvinyl chloride--vinyl--for consumer use, and putting tires, wheels and brakes on the Columbia space shuttle. In August 1986, Goodrich combined its tire business with Uniroyal's to form Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. Goodrich sold its 50% interest in the new company to Clayton & Dubilier, a New York investment firm, the following year. Michelin later acquired Uniroyal Goodrich, and today Goodrich tires are produced by Uniroyal Goodrich, a part of Michelin. No longer a tire maker, Goodrich, based in Akron, Ohio, provides aircraft systems and services and manufactures a variety of specialty chemicals.
Republic Iron & Steel Co.
10/4/16 (in): $80.875
5/12/24 (out): $43
Performance: -47%
DJIA Performance: -13%
Republic was formed in 1899 as a consolidation of 24 companies operating mills and blast furnaces across the East and Midwest. In 1930, the company was part of another consolidation, and became Republic Steel Corp. This company lasted for decades, eventually merging with LTV Corp., a steel, energy and aerospace company, in 1984. Today, LTV, having shed its other businesses, is the nation's third-biggest steelmaker.
Studebaker Corp.
10/4/16 (in): $133.75
5/12/24 (out): $79.125
Performance: 18%
DJIA Performance: -13%
Nonpar stock:
5/12/24 (in): $32.125
8/31/25 (out): $47.125
Performance: 47%
DJIA Performance: 58%
This auto maker was incorporated in 1911 as a consolidation of Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co. and Everett-Metzger-Flanders Co. The company merged with Packard Motor Car in 1954 to form Studebaker-Packard Corp., manufacturing such cars as the Packard Clipper and the Studebaker President. The new entity merged with Worthington Corp. in 1967 and became Studebaker-Worthington Corp. McGraw-Edison Co., an electrical- and mechanical-products maker, acquired the company in 1979; McGraw-Edison, in turn, was bought by Cooper Industries Inc. in 1985.
Texas Co.
10/4/16 (in): $221
1/22/24 (out): $43.75
Performance: -12%
DJIA Performance: -6.0%
8/31/25 (in): $47.125
5/24/96: $86
Performance: 25,756%
DJIA Performance: 3,982%
Founded in 1902 by "Buckskin" Joe Cullinan and New York investor Arnold Schlaet, Texaco Inc. was originally known as Texas Co. After World War I, Texaco developed what is believed to have been the first "continuous" process for refining crude oil, the Holmes-Manley process, which significantly increased the yield of gasoline from each barrel of crude. With the acquisition of California Petroleum Corp. in 1928, Texaco became the first oil company to market in all 48 states. In 1984, Texaco, now based in White Plains, N.Y., acquired another huge operation: Getty Oil Co. It wasn't quite that easy, however: A jury found that Texaco had improperly snatched Getty away from another suitor, Pennzoil Co. In 1987, Texaco paid Pennzoil a staggering $3 billion to settle the case. Initially capitalized at $3 million, Texaco at year-end 1995 had assets of $25.5 billion.
Utah Copper Co.
10/4/16 (in): $95
2/6/24 (out): $65
Performance: -32%
DJIA Performance: -2.0%
Utah Copper Co. was incorporated in 1904, as a reorganization of another company of the same name. As its name implies, it held extensive mining claims in the Beehive State. In 1936, the company merged with Kennecott Copper Corp., which in turn merged with Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) in 1981. British Petroleum Co. took control of Standard of Ohio in 1986. BP sold Kennecott to RTZ Corp., a British mining concern, in 1989.
Western Union Telegraph Co.
10/4/16 (in): $100
10/1/28 (out): $148
Performance: 48%
DJIA Performance: 132%
Western Union, one of the paleolithic telecommunications companies, was incorporated in 1851 as New York & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Co., acquiring its more familiar name five years later. For years, the company held stock in various other telegraph companies operating across the U.S. In 1987, the company became Western Union Corp., and Brooke Group Ltd. bought a majority stake in the company. Western Union's name was changed to New Valley Corp. in 1991; the company filed for bankruptcy protection later that year. New Valley's money-transfer operations--the vast bulk of its business--were bought by First Financial Management Corp. in 1994; First Financial later merged with First Data Corp.
Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Co.
10/4/16 (in): $64.375
12/7/25 (out): $74
Performance: 15%
DJIA Performance: 49%
10/1/28 (in): $105.625
5/24/96: $18.25
Performance: 1,006%
DJIA Performance: 2,301%
The diversified manufacturer was founded in 1886 by prolific inventor George Westinghouse, who first made his mark with his innovations in air brakes for trains and railway-signal design. In 1896, the company introduced the alternating-current system of electrical power, which later became the standard for the nation. During World War I, the company built radio equipment for the Signal Corps, and in 1920, Westinghouse established the first commercial radio station, KDKA in Pittsburgh. Westinghouse shortened its name to Westinghouse Electric Corp. in 1945. Over the years, while the Pittsburgh-based company remained in the broadcasting business, it began to concentrate more on industrial and defense equipment. But last year it dramatically changed its business portfolio with the $5.4 billion acquisition of CBS Inc.
Corn Products Refining Co.
3/1/20 (in): $81.25
1/22/24 (out): $169.50
Performance: 109%
DJIA Performance: 5.2%
8/15/33 (in): $84.50
6/1/59 (out): $59.50
Performance: 113%
DJIA Performance: 566%
Corn Products Refining was incorporated in 1906 to absorb a number of other corn- and sugar-products companies. Among its early acquisitions: Novelty Candy Co. and Penick & Ford Ltd., a maker of mixed table syrups. In 1958, Corn Products Refining merged with Best Foods Inc. to become Corn Products Co. That name gave way in 1969 to CPC International Inc. The company is now based in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & Co.
1/22/24 (in): $129
8/31/25 (out): $101.375
Performance: 31%
DJIA Performance: 45%
11/20/35 (in): $145
5/24/96: $82.75
Performance: 4,934%
DJIA Performance: 3,830%
Incorporated in 1915, the progenitor of today's DuPont Co. was formed to take over the operations of E.I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Co. The latter business, through various incarnations, had been making explosives since 1802. The company, now based in Wilmington, Del., moved into a broader chemical business by the '20s. In 1949, the U.S. Justice Department attacked the company's interests in General Motors, and the Supreme Court ruled in 1961 that the company had to dispose of its 63 million shares of GM stock; the divestiture was completed in 1965. Over the years, DuPont has many important advances to its credit: The refrigerant Freon, produced in a joint venture with GM in 1931; Teflon, created in 1938; Dacron and Mylar, developed in the 1950s; and Lycra, introduced in 1963.
Mack Trucks Inc.
1/22/24 (in): $84
5/26/32 (out): $12.25
Performance: -71%
DJIA Performance: -49%
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