Thinking about the Xerox (NYSE:XRX) story on a long enough timeline might be enough to make any observer either chuckle or shake their head in awe or disbelief, though we needn't look that far back in time to see the blatant inefficiencies in corporate America. The Conduent (NYSE:CNDT) business line was acquired in 2010 by Xerox to participate in what Xerox perceived to be a smart acquisition that would be accretive to its earnings and future growth potential. The line toted by management at the time was probably far from the reality of the situation. With every claim in the financial world, there is often a flip side to things. Such acquisitions into new and "growing" lines of businesses say to me that the acquiring business's management is envious and impatient about getting its share price and market share higher regardless of the bottom-line effect on the value per share calculus over the long term. This turned out to be the case for Xerox's acquisition. It did not capture market share or grow with the market over the years. In fact, it went nowhere and lost profitability. It did $6.5 billion of business in fiscal 2009 and $6.66 billion of business in fiscal 2015. While its market has been growing at a CAGR of ~6%, it's obvious to conclude that Conduent has missed some opportunities along the way in terms of both acquisitions and organic growth.
