1. Cash cow (high market share, low industry growth) These units typically generate cash in excess of the amount of cash needed to maintain the business. They are considered serious and boring, in a "mature" market, and any company would be thrilled to own as many of them as possible. They must be "milked" continuously with as little investment as possible, since such investment would be wasted in a low-growth industry.2. Dogs (Low Market Share, Low Market Growth) These units typically break even, generating just enough cash to maintain the company's market share. While owning a break-even unit offers the social benefit of providing jobs and possible synergies to support other business units, from an accounting perspective such a unit is worthless as it does not generate cash for the company. They depress a profitable company's return on assets ratio, used by many investors to judge how well a company is being run. It is believed that the dogs should be sold off.3. Question marks (low market share, high industry growth) They are growing rapidly and therefore consume large amounts of money, but because they have low market shares they do not generate much money. The result is a large net consumption of liquidity. A question mark has the potential to gain market share and become a star, and ultimately a cash cow when market growth slows. If Question Mark fails to become the market leader, then, perhaps after years of cash burn, it will degenerate into a dog when market growth declines. The question marks must be carefully analyzed to determine whether they are worth the investment required to increase market share.4. Stars (high market share, high industry growth) The hope is that stars will become the next cash cows. Sustaining the business unit's market leadership may require extra money, but it's worth it if that's what it takes for the unit to remain a leader. When growth slows, stars become cash cows if they have been able to maintain category leadership, or they go from brief stardom to canine domination. Most companies have their portfolio of businesses spread across all four quadrants of the matrix. Success is achieving balance. The company's goal must be to maintain its position in the cows, but also to remember not to reinvest too much in them. Cash generated from cash cows should be used as a first priority to maintain or consolidate position in those stars which are not self-sustaining.