Five American Companies In Danger of Extinction

Each year, 24/7 Wall St. identifies 10 important American brands that we predict are going to disappear within a year. This year’s list reflects the brutally competitive nature of certain industries and the reason why companies cannot afford to fall behind in efficiency, innovation or financing.

American Airlines will disappear in 2013 because of its inefficiency. It was the premier carrier in the United States for almost 30 years -- even surviving through periods during which most other carriers went bankrupt. However, it lost its critical advantage of scale when Northwest merged with Delta (NYSE: DAL) and Continental merged with United (NYSE: UAL). Within two years, American became a medium sized carrier.

Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) may be the best example of an innovative company that lost its edge. As a result, it will disappear in 2013. Five years ago, RIM was the only smartphone of any size and had almost the entire corporate market. But it made one mistake: it failed to adapt its technology for consumer use. In June 2007, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) launched the iPhone and the rest is history.

Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) no longer has the capital to compete. The retailer will be gone by the end of 2013. In the company’s most recent 10-Q, it said one of its biggest risks was running low on capital and not meeting financial obligations.

A few of the companies we said would vanish are still operating -- barely. American Apparel is now a penny stock. Nokia is another company 24/7 still predicts will go away soon. The former Finnish heavyweight just fired 10,000 employees, or 20% of its workforce.
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