what is a mature industry 
a mature industry is one that has passed both the emerging and growth phases of industry growth companies in these industries tend to be larger older and more stable at the beginning of the industry lifecycle new products or services find use in the marketplace many businesses may spring up trying to profit from the new product demand over time failures and consolidations will distill the business to the strongest as the industry continues to grow this is the period where the surviving companies are considered to be mature eventually growth is predicted to slow as new innovative products or services replace existing industry offerings and begin a new industry lifecycle understanding a mature industrythe maturity phase of the industry lifecycle often begins with a shakeout period during which growth slows focus shifts toward expense reduction and consolidation occurs some firms achieve economies of scale hampering the sustainability of smaller competitors as maturity is achieved barriers to entry become higher and the competitive landscape becomes more clear market share cash flow and profitability become the primary goals of the remaining mature companies once growth is relatively less important price competition becomes much more relevant as product differentiation declines with consolidation examples of mature industries in the u s today include food and agriculture mining and natural resources extraction and financial services the shares of mature industries are characterized by low price to earnings p e ratios and high dividend yields earnings and sales grow slower in mature industries than during the growth and emerging industries phases a mature industry may be at its peak or just past it but not yet in the decline phase while earnings may be stable growth prospects are few and far between as the remaining companies consolidate market share and create barriers for new competitors to enter the sphere image by sabrina jiang investopedia 2020