Texting Turns 25: A Look At Its Transformative Role In US Commerce

The text message turned 25 Sunday, and in its quarter century of life, the medium has proven a critical and influential force, particularly on Wall Street.

Since Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) VOD carried that first text — a GIF-less, emoji-less “Merry Christmas” from the PC of one British engineer to the phone of a Vodafone colleague — the 160-character platform has upended industries and bolstered bottom lines.

Telecom Transformation

Of course, it forced a shift in products and services, opening new revenue streams for Apple Inc. AAPL, Nokia Oyj (ADR) NOK, BlackBerry Ltd BB, AT&T Inc. T, T-Mobile US Inc TMUS and Sprint Corp S.

It also paved the way for Verizon Communications Inc. VZ’s seizure of market control after its 2000 conception. Verizon is just one of many firms born in (and in many cases of) the age of texting.

There’s Facebook Inc FB’s WhatsApp and Messenger, Snap Inc SNAP’s Snapchat, Pulse, Chomp, Tango, Viber and dozens of other mononymous apps. Facebook largely controls the space, with each of its platforms boasting 1.3 billion monthly users and management targeting nascent competitors for buyout deals.

A Business Renaissance

Since 1992, the communications sector has exploded, but texting has also changed the business of other industries.

It set the stage for Domino’s Pizza, Inc. DPZ’s emoji-based easy order, for Macy’s Inc M text promos, for American Airlines Group Inc AAL’s flight alerts, for Wells Fargo & Co WFC’s text banking, for Alphabet Inc GOOGL’s two-step verification and enhanced account security.

From AMBER alerts to bitcoin scams, the simple SMS is more than a digital post-it — it’s the core of a culture.

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