Idiom
Cash cow
A cash cow is a product, service or business that earns a steady flow of money with little extra effort or investment.
How people use it
Companies use the term for a reliable earner that pays for other projects, such as an old but popular product line. It appears in business news and everyday talk alike. It can be neutral or slightly critical: calling a college sports program a cash cow may suggest it is run mainly for profit. People also talk about milking a cash cow, which means taking as much money from it as possible.
Examples
- The company's oldest coffee maker is still its cash cow, selling thousands every month.
- For the small theater, the holiday show is a cash cow that pays for the rest of the season.
- Some parents worry that the summer camp treats families as a cash cow.
Where it comes from
The image is a dairy cow that gives milk day after day for years at little extra cost. The term was made popular in business around 1970 by the growth-share matrix, a planning chart from the Boston Consulting Group. That chart sorted products into groups with memorable names, and cash cows were the mature, profitable ones whose money funded growth elsewhere.
Check yourself
1. What is a cash cow in business?
Answer: A product that reliably brings in money. A cash cow is a steady earner. The dairy farm is only the picture behind the phrase.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: The popular puzzle app became the studio's cash cow, funding all its new projects.. A cash cow earns steady money. A product that always loses money is the opposite, and the fair sentence is literal.
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