How Rare Is It For A Company To Reach 100 Years?

I asked this question on my blog several years ago and decided it was time to update the answer now that I have done more research. Since that post, several companies founded after 1915 have joined the Century Club and, as one might expect, a few others have fallen away. As of 2020 I have identified at least 1200 businesses that have been in continuous, independent operation for 100 years or more. Though that is double the number in my original post on this topic, it is still just 0.02% of all companies in operation in the U.S. Less than 15% of Century Club members are public companies and of those privately-held, over 60% are generational family firms. The companies that make it to their 100th anniversary have found a way to prosper through world wars, economic depression and recessions, environmental disasters, changes in government regulations, globalization, quantum leaps in technology, and major shifts in social and cultural values. Decisions made long ago about company values and culture, investments, and relationships are what will help enable them through the crisis of 2020. Survival, not short-term profits or growth, may be the ultimate performance measure.