Why These 8 Giants' Revenue Fell From 2020 to 2024 (Mostly Spinoffs, Not Failure)
GE, 3M, IBM and AT&T all reported falling revenue from 2020 to 2024 — but most of the drop came from spinning off divisions, not shrinking.
The Big Companies Whose Revenue Fell From 2020 to 2024
Across the major companies tracked on CorpDigest with complete revenue figures for fiscal 2020 through fiscal 2024, the overwhelming story was growth. But a handful of household-name giants ended the period smaller than they started. The headline numbers look alarming — until you read why. For most of them, the decline is not a business collapse; it is the result of deliberately splitting the company into pieces.
The Decliners
| Company | Revenue change (FY20→FY24) | FY2020 | FY2024 | Main reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Electric | -51.4% | $79.6B | $38.7B | split into GE Aerospace, GE HealthCare (2023) and GE Vernova (2024) |
| Intel | -31.8% | $77.9B | $53.1B | organic decline — lost share to AMD and TSMC amid a PC slump |
| 3M | -28.3% | $32.2B | $23.1B | spun off its healthcare unit Solventum (2024); also litigation drag |
| IBM | -14.7% | $73.6B | $62.8B | divested its managed-infrastructure unit as Kyndryl (2021) |
| AT&T | -14.5% | $143.1B | $122.3B | spun off WarnerMedia (2022) to form Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Lowe's | -6.6% | $89.6B | $83.7B | post-pandemic cooldown in home-improvement demand |
| Dell Technologies | -4.1% | $92.2B | $88.4B | PC market downturn |
| Prudential | -2.1% | $57.2B | $56.0B | roughly flat |
Figures are reported annual revenue as compiled on CorpDigest. Each company links to its full year-by-year history.
Why "Falling Revenue" Is Misleading Here
The two largest drops — General Electric (−51%) and 3M (−28%) — are mostly accounting artifacts of corporate breakups, not shrinking businesses. GE dismantled itself into three separately listed companies: GE HealthCare in 2023 and GE Vernova in 2024, leaving GE Aerospace as the remaining entity. Its revenue "fell" simply because two-thirds of the old company now report separately. 3M tells the same story: it spun off its healthcare arm as Solventum in 2024, removing those sales from the parent.
IBM and AT&T are milder versions of the same pattern. IBM carved out its managed-infrastructure services business as Kyndryl in 2021; AT&T offloaded WarnerMedia in 2022, which merged into Warner Bros. Discovery. In each case the parent's top line dropped by the size of the unit it shed, even as the remaining business was arguably healthier and more focused.
The Real Decline: Intel
Intel is the one genuine contraction on the list. Its revenue fell from $77.9B in 2020 to $53.1B in 2024 — no spinoff involved. Intel lost data-center and PC market share to AMD and to TSMC-manufactured rivals, while a post-pandemic slump in PC demand hit its core business. This is what an organic revenue decline actually looks like, and it stands in contrast to the engineered drops above.
How to Read the Table
The important distinction is between structural revenue loss and portfolio cleanup. A company can report lower revenue because demand weakened, prices fell, or competitors took share. It can also report lower revenue because management sold a division, spun off a unit, or reclassified a segment. Those two cases should not be interpreted the same way. The first points to pressure on the remaining business. The second can be part of a deliberate plan to make the parent company simpler, more focused, and easier for investors to value.
That is why the pattern matters as much as the percentage. A single sharp step-down around a transaction year usually signals a divestiture or spinoff. A multi-year slide with no obvious portfolio event deserves more scrutiny. For researchers, the next step is to compare revenue with margin, free cash flow, and segment disclosures. A smaller company with better margins can be healthier than a larger company whose sales are still growing but whose profits are deteriorating.
The Takeaway
When you see a giant's revenue fall, check whether the company restructured before assuming trouble. A year-by-year revenue history makes the difference obvious: a clean step-down in one year usually signals a spinoff, while a multi-year slide (as at Intel) signals real competitive pressure.
We also avoid mixing revenue decline with stock-price decline. Market value can fall even when revenue rises, and revenue can fall while a company becomes more profitable after divesting lower-margin units. The table therefore stays focused on reported sales, then explains the corporate event or competitive pressure behind the change.
Related Reading
For the other side of the period, see our study of the fastest-growing companies by revenue (2020–2024), the largest companies by revenue, and individual histories like General Electric, Intel, and IBM.
Disclaimer:Financial figures cited in this article are approximate and sourced from publicly available reports. Always verify against the company's current SEC filings (10-K, 10-Q) or earnings releases before using in investment or business analysis.