History of Xerox: Net Worth, Dividend, and Corporate History

The history of Xerox began in the early 20th century with the invention of xerography. The company, originally known as the Haloid Photographic Company, revolutionized the way documents were copied, providing businesses and individuals with a more efficient method to reproduce documents.

Whether you’re a tech enthusiast, marketer, or business owner, the history of Xerox offers a captivating look at how a pioneering invention can lead to the development of a global enterprise. At Business2Community, we’ve explored a variety of sources to bring you an in-depth walk-through of the Xerox story and details about Xerox’s net worth, share price, and dividend history.

What is Xerox’s Net Worth?

Xerox’s net worth or market capitalization as of August 2024 is $1,26 billion, based on a stock price of $10.01.

The company’s shares have been on the slide during 2024 as it struggles to reduce costs and deliver on its expected earnings. In January 2024, the company reduced global headcount by 15% and the market responded by dropping the share price by 11% the day of the announcement.

In April’s earnings report, the company was around $30 million short of a predicted $1.53 billion revenue, which led to a 14% initial drop, although an 11% recovery came shortly after.

In 2021, Xerox changed its listing from the NYSE to the NASDAQ, retaining its XRX ticker symbol. Vice Chairman and CEO at the time John Visentin said of the move, “Xerox’s focus on services, software, financing and innovation indicates the direction we’re taking our business for the future.”

Xerox Revenue Data

With the invention of various innovative products through the 60s and 70s, Xerox’s revenues spiked. In 1965, the company made over $500 million and in the years 1973-75, the company recorded record revenues – as well as profits and earnings.

Revenue reports irregularities in the 1990s led to the SEC filing a complaint against Xerox in 2002. The company had been reporting an equipment lease as a completed sale rather than as revenue throughout the term of the lease, among other issues with the accounting practices.

Xerox paid the SEC $10 million without admitting fault and executives settled with fines of $22 million and avoided prosecution.

Here is a recent history of Xerox’s revenue:

Xerox Dividend History

Xerox has paid a dividend regularly since 2007, when in November of that year the dividend was reinstated after more than six years. Since 2017, Xerox has paid four quarterly dividends totaling $1 per share. In July 2001, the company announced it would cancel its dividend payment, which had been regularly paid each quarter in the company’s history to that point.

The company had been struggling to remain profitable and the dividend cancelation was part of a plan to return to profitability. CEO at the time, Paul Allaire said of the move, “After serious deliberation, the board of directors chose to eliminate the dividend, a decision that contributes to the progress Xerox is making in restoring its financial strength and helps to provide the flexibility required to build on
the turnaround plan.”

Below we share the dividend payments for the past five years:

Who Owns Xerox?

The Xerox Holdings Corporation is a publicly listed company with shares traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange. More than 90% of shares in Xerox are held by institutional investors such as Blackrock, Inc. (15.4%), the Vanguard Group, Inc. (12.7%), and Pacer Advisors, Inc (9.07%).

Xerox’s early history began in 1906 as the Haloid Photographic Company. The company began selling photographic paper and equipment but became a household name in the photocopying industry. Xerox pioneered the xerographic process of dry copying and developed the first automatic xerographic printer and copying machine.

Who is the Xerox CEO?

Steve Bandrowczak was appointed CEO of Xerox Holdings Corporation in August 2022. He boasts an impressive record of transforming global operations through technology to increase market share and grow profits. Bandrowczak joined Xerox in 2018 as the company president and chief operations officer. Bandrowczak succeeded John Visentin who died unexpectedly at the age of 59.

A notable former CEO is Ursula Burns who served from 2009 to 2016, making her the first black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company.

A full list of Xerox CEOs is below:

Growth and Development of Xerox

Xerox was born in the early 1900s, revolutionizing the document management industry with innovative technologies. Since then, Xerox has dominated its initial target market and expanded its range of products and services significantly.

Here we delve into key milestones in the Xerox story, showcasing how the company achieved financial success and grew into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise over the decades.

1906-1960: The Haloid Photographic Company Advances Photocopying

Xerox’s history goes back to 1906, when it started as a small photography paper business known as the Haloid Photographic Company which made its name by developing new and improved paper. In 1935, the Haloid company went public to raise funds to buy the Rectigraph Company, a photocopying machine manufacturer. Haloid quickly began selling rectigraphs, becoming a significant part of its business.

In 1947 Haloid signed a royalty-sharing agreement with Chester Carlson, the inventor of the first dry photocopying machine, and the Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit research organization in Ohio, to develop his technology into a commercial product. To help make the new system for printing images stand out, Haloid came up with the term xerography from the Greek for “dry writing”.

In 1949, Haloid launched the XeroX Copier. The manual xerographic copying machine was messy and prone to errors and many in the print industry thought that Haloid’s investment in xerography was a mistake. They were soon proven wrong.

From 1950 onward, Haloid was the sole licensing agency for xerography patents which they issued to several large enterprises. The company’s other products sold well and generated a good return, with photographic paper sales growing and new office photocopying machines proving popular.

In 1956, Haloid partnered with Rank Precision Industries to create Rank Xerox and develop and commercialize the Xeronic computer printer. In 1958, the company changed its name to Haloid Xerox, and then Xerox Corporation in 1961.

The company became well-known in 1959, following the release of the Xerox 914, the first automatic plain paper photocopier.

The company came up with an innovative marketing campaign that suggested the Xerox copier was so intuitive that even monkeys could make copies. This level of simplicity became the cornerstone of all Xerox products and services. By 1965, Xerox’s revenue had grown to more than $500 million.

1960-1980: Xerox Builds an Empire and Watches it Crumble

In the 1960s, Xerox totally dominated the photocopier market. Xerox was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1961 with an initial closing price of $104 per share (though this price is not easily comparable to its modern stock price due to multiple stock splits). The company also began to expand overseas, with Rank Xerox and Fuji Photo Film forming a joint venture, Fuji Xerox Co. in 1962, and subsidiaries opened in Australia, Mexico, and Europe.

Xerox introduced the Xerox 813, the first copier small enough to sit on a desktop, in 1963. This was followed in 1973 by a basic, color copying machine. At the same time, Xerox’s lab was developing long-distance xerography (LDX) to connect a copier to a scanner over the telephone network to allow a document to be scanned on one machine and printed on another. Xerox announced the launch of the LDX system in 1964. This was closely followed by the smaller, cheaper Magnafax Telecopier in 1964.

In 1968, C Peter McColough became CEO of Xerox and the company consolidated its headquarters at Xerox Square in Rochester, New York. Following this, Xerox made several acquisitions:

• University Microfilms International in 1962
• Electro-Optical Systems in 1963
• R. R. Bowker in 1967
• Scientific Data Systems in 1969

In 1969, Xerox moved its headquarters to Stamford, Connecticut.

Based on a vision for an electronic, paperless office, Xerox focused on developing new business tools. It formed Xerox Computer Services in 1970 and acquired several small technology companies over the following years.

The company also opened the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) in California where it developed several modern computing technologies, such as laser printing and Ethernet. Using these new developments, in 1973 the company introduced its first personal computer the Xerox Alto.

The work of Xerox’s scientists at the Palo Alto Research Center work was so innovative that many of their inventions were seen in Apple’s early Mac computers. The similarities to the Xerox machine were so stark that, in 1989, the Xerox Corporation sued Apple for $150 million. Steve Jobs argued that Apple had expanded on Xerox’s work, making it original.

IBM introduced an office copying machine in 1970, giving Xerox its first taste of genuine competition. The IBM machine, despite being well built and carrying the company’s reputable brand, was slower and less sophisticated than Xerox copiers. Xerox filed a lawsuit claiming IBM had infringed its patent and the dispute was settled in 1978, with IBM agreeing to pay Xerox $25 million.

On the other hand, Xerox had to defend itself in several antitrust investigations. These included a suit brought by the Federal Trade Commission. The case also led to the forced licensing of all the company’s patents, which mostly went to Japanese competitors. Within four years, Xerox’s share of the US market fell from nearly 100% to below 14%. With these troubles distracting Xerox’s leaders, the company dropped to second place in the industry when Kodak released a more advanced copier machine.

During the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers began to pose a greater threat to Xerox’s business. Xerox machines were big and complicated, with a tendency to break down often. Ricoh launched a cheaper, smaller, more reliable machine with the initial intention of capturing the lower end of the market. By 1980, Canon was also challenging Xerox’s market share but this time it was in higher-end machines.

This intense competition led Xerox to restructure its organization with a clear focus on restoring market share, improving reliability and quality control, and reducing manufacturing costs. The company was successful in regaining much of its market share, but fierce price wars meant that Xerox’s copier revenues stagnated at around $8 billion throughout much of the 1980s.

1980-2000: Xerox Focuses on Establishing its Lead Once Again

David T Kearns was appointed Xerox CEO in 1982. After a few trying years, Xerox began to release new products again, such as the Memorywriter typewriter which quickly outsold IBM’s model.

In 1982, Xerox also announced the launch of its 10-Series copiers. These smaller machines used microprocessors and could complete more complex tasks using a wide range of paper types than their predecessors. Xerox developed the technology for the 10-Series machines at Xerox PARC, which was finally integrating more closely with the rest of the company following years of disconnect.

The Xerox Star workstation, introduced in 1981, was the first commercial PC to include many of the technologies we now view as standard such as a window-based user interface, folders, a mouse, networking, servers, and email.

Xerox’s new product range also featured computer workstations, software, and products that formed the foundation of a  $1 billion laser printer business. In 1983, Xerox took the bold move of diversifying into financial services with the acquisition of the insurance firm Crum and Forster and the establishment of Xerox Financial Services. In 1985, Xerox sold off its publishing subsidiaries.

Also in 1983, Xerox India was formed through a joint venture between Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Modi and Rank Xerox. In 1999 Xerox acquired a majority stake in Xerox India.

In 1988, 50 years after the first xerographic image was produced, Xerox launched its 50 Series copiers to mark Carlson’s invention. In the same year, the company entered into a significant period of restructuring, including 2,000 staff layoffs.

Paul A Allaire took over as CEO in 1990 when Kearns retired and embarked on further reorganization, including exiting the financial services sector. The launch of digital photocopiers in the 1990s and a refreshed product range gave Xerox a lead over its competitors. Xerox added more new features, such as network printing and faxing, to create a range of multi-function machines.

In the fourth quarter of 1990, Xerox reported earnings of $235 million, or $2.27 a share, on $5.01 billion in revenue. However, this was followed by more financial and legal concerns for Xerox, with several lawsuits leading to losses. For example, in 1992 Xerox was forced to pay $2.5 million to Gradco Systems to settle a patent dispute.

During the 1990s, Xerox also worked to transform its product into a service, providing a complete document service to companies including supply, maintenance, and configuration of machines, as well as customer support. In 1994, Xerox started to refer to itself as The Document Company to reflect this full range of services. It also introduced a new logo made up of a partially pixelated red X, representing the company’s move towards digital technology.

Xerox began to focus more on color machines and products for the home office market. The company also had a desire to move into other markets, with the launch of DocuShare software in 1997. DocuShare enabled users to share information on company intranets. In 1995, Xerox increased its stake in Rank Xerox to 80% and bought it out entirely in 1997, changing its name to Xerox Limited.

In 1998, Xerox acquired XLConnect Solutions Inc. which specialized in the design, build, and support of networks for company document solutions.

2000-2024: The Xerox SEC Investigation and Transformation Plan

Anne M Mulcahy was appointed Xerox CEO in August 2001 and has been credited with much of the company’s modern-day turnaround. Under Mulcahy’s leadership, Xerox returned to profitability by the end of 2002, reduced its debt, and increased cash flow, all while continuing to invest in research and development.

In 2002, the US Securities and Exchange Commission launched an investigation into Xerox’s accounting practices between 1997 and 2000 which misled investors and the public. The Xerox Corporation agreed to pay a $10 million penalty and to restate its financial results for the years 1997 through 2000.

Mulcahy was succeeded by Ursula Burns in 2009. In the same year, Xerox announced plans to acquire Affiliated Computer Services, a services and outsourcing company to further grow its presence in this market. The acquisition went through in February 2010. The outsourcing arm of the company was sold in 2014 to the French IT services firm Atos.

In 2016, Xerox announced that it would split the company in two, with its business services unit becoming its own publicly traded company. The document management business retained the Xerox name and the new business services company was called Conduent.

In 2018, Fujifilm announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in the company for $6.1 billion and merge it with Fuji Xerox. The company would have a market value of up to $18 billion following the acquisition. The plans were abandoned after a fierce battle with rebel shareholders.

Xerox began a bid to takeover HP Inc. in 2019 but the attempt was met with strong resistance. in 2020, Xerox announced that they were backing down with the COVID-19 pandemic given as a main reason for the decision.

Xerox has always prided itself on a strong company culture. This was backed up in 2024 when Xerox Canada was named a Top Employer by Mediacorp Canada for encouraging professional development and community involvement.

In January 2024, Xerox announced plans to lay off 15% of its workforce in a bid to cut costs and boost growth. As part of an overall business restructure, Steven Bandrowczak, CEO said: “The shift to a business unit operating model is a continuation of our client-focused, balanced execution priorities and is designed to accelerate product and services, go-to-market, and corporate functions’ operating efficiencies across all geographies we serve.”

History of the Xerox Logo

The Xerox Corporation came into existence in 1961, but the company’s logos can be traced back to its founding as the Haloid company in 1906. Here’s a rundown of the company’s many logo transitions over that time:

1906-1948

The original 1906 Haloid logo was black and white with the company name written in capital letters inside a stretched oval. A 1938 redesign introduced a black background with white lettering inside a rounded rectangle.

1948-1960

The shape of the badge remained the same after the company rebranded to Haloid Xerox. The white lettering was put on top of a larger yellow X on a black background. In 1949, additional detail was added to the badge, and the yellow was switched out for red.

In 1957, the logo saw a significant redesign with the main color changing from black to dark red. The Xerox wordmark over the large X was replaced by Haloid Xerox in white capital letters.

1960-2024

The formation of the Xerox Corporation in 1960 was followed by the introduction of an entirely new logo, created by the global creative consultancy Lippincott. It features the name Xerox in a modern black font, with the lines of both Xs elongated and slightly curved. “Corporation” is added under the name in capitals.

In 1968, the Xerox logo was redesigned by design firm Geismar & Chermayeff who switched the color to red and redesigned the wordmark in a different font. The word corporation was also removed.

In 1994, Xerox began to use a red X icon as its main logo, with no additional lettering or graphics to reflect its move toward digital technologies.

The global brand consultancy Interbrand took another look at the logo in 2008. They kept the red and white color palette but introduced a lowercase wordmark alongside a red ball with a white and grey X on it. In 2019, Xerox simplified the logo to a simple red wordmark.

The Future of Xerox

Xerox’s journey from 1906 to the modern day is a compelling story of innovation, market leadership, and resilience. Recognized for revolutionizing office tools and technology with the introduction of the Xerox 914, Xerox enjoyed significant success throughout the 1960s and 70s. However, Xerox’s dominance was threatened by competition and technological advancements. Its financial performance has been inconsistent thanks to shifts in market demand and public relations issues.

Xerox is working hard to build a future that connects its heritage with modern demands, ensuring its financial stability and market relevance. The company’s ongoing transformation efforts are influenced by several hard-learned lessons, positioning Xerox as a potential leader in the digital age.

Xerox’s recent efforts to reinvent itself through digital transformation and IT services show that it hasn’t lost its determination to stay relevant. These efforts are expected to drive both profit and revenue improvements. The company is targeting a $300 million improvement in operating income from 2023-2026 and a return to double-digit operating income margin in 2026.

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