Kodak Shares Grim Update After A Fatal Mistake Took It From A $31 Billion Giant To The Brink Of Collapse

Kodak has recently shared a very troubling update about where the company is headed, and the future looks grim.

For most of the 20th century, Kodak wasn’t just another brand, it was the leading name in photography. Founded back in 1880 by George Eastman, the company introduced its first camera only eight years later, which was the start of its dominance in the industry.

By 1996, Kodak had reached an extraordinary peak, with its business valued at a massive $31 billion. It’s hard to imagine how quickly that success unraveled in the years that followed.

But less than twenty years later, everything came crashing down. By 2012, Kodak was forced to file for bankruptcy. The reason was clear — the company failed to keep up with the digital revolution. What makes the story even more shocking is that Kodak actually had the technology in-house, but ignored it.

In fact, in 1975, one of Kodak’s engineers, Steve Sasson, developed a working digital camera prototype. Instead of embracing his innovation, the company dismissed it, worried that film-free cameras would hurt its long-profitable film sales.

That decision turned out to be disastrous. While Kodak clung to film, rivals like Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm fully embraced digital photography and surged ahead, leaving Kodak behind in the dust.

Kodak was once a hugely profitable company Brandon Bell/Getty Images

According to Forbes, the companies that embraced change are still thriving today. Canon earned close to $2 billion in profits last year, while Fujifilm pulled in $1.7 billion in 2024.

Kodak, meanwhile, has been limping along for over a decade since declaring bankruptcy, but its survival is now hanging by a thread. The company hinted that its ability to keep operating may soon come to an end.

In a statement shared on Monday (August 11), Kodak admitted it may finally have to shut down operations for good if things don’t change quickly.

As reported by CNN, Kodak’s most recent earnings release revealed that the company no longer has “committed financing or available liquidity” to meet its massive $500 million in debt payments that are coming due soon.

"These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." the company cautioned in its warning.

To scrape together funds, reports suggest Kodak is planning to halt payments to its long-standing retirement pension plan — a drastic move that shows how desperate the situation has become.

Kodak was reluctant to move away from film cameras Nikos Pekiaridis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The company’s own report laid out its strategy, saying: "Kodak's plans to adequately fund its preferred stock and debt obligations when they become due are to use the proceeds from the expected reversion of cash to the Company upon settlement of obligations under the Kodak Retirement Income Plan to reduce the amount of term debt and to amend, extend or refinance its remaining debt and preferred stock obligations."

Despite the grim outlook, a Kodak spokesperson told CNN that the company is still optimistic. They insisted Kodak remains “confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations.”