Based on an analysis of over 600 large and mid-cap U.S. publicly listed companies from 2001 to 2015, this paper provides systematic evidence that a long-term approach can lead to superior performance for revenue and earnings, investment, market capitalization, and job creation.

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Corporate short-termism has been the subject of ongoing debate among leaders in business, government, and academia for decades, but hard evidence on the impact of short-termism on company performance and economic growth has remained scarce.

To fill this gap, MGI created a systematic measurement of long- and short-termism at the company level. Its findings show that companies classified as “long term” outperform their shorter-term peers on a range of key economic and financial metrics.

Based on an analysis of 615 large and mid-cap U.S. publicly listed companies from 2001 to 2015, the paper’s findings highlight the benefits to long-termism, including:

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