Cash cow

A cash cow is a product or service that generates significant revenue over a long period of time for the company that sells it.

By generating steady streams of income, cash cows help fund the overall growth of a company, their positive effects spilling over to other business units.

Furthermore, companies can use them as leverage for future expansions, as lenders are more willing to lend money knowing that the debt will be serviced.

Cash cows can be also used to buy back shares already on the market or increase the dividends paid to shareholders.

This sentiment is expressed in the business aphorism "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses", which is misattributed to Henry Ford, a pioneering manufacturer of the automobile.