92% of Business Value is Intangible. So Why is Comms Still Overhead?
FrequencyFebruary 27, 202600:18:22

92% of Business Value is Intangible. So Why is Comms Still Overhead?

In 1975, tangible assets made up 83% of S&P 500 market value. By end of 2025, that number had collapsed to 8%. Stephen Waddington's Substack breaks down what this structural inversion actually means — and it's an argument the IC and HR worlds should probably be making more loudly.

Chuck and Jenni explore what happens when trust, reputation, and stakeholder confidence become enterprise value rather than soft metrics — and why comms teams are still fighting for budget in a world where 92% of the economy runs on exactly what they build. They also push back on overclaiming: not all of that 92% is culture and engagement. Some of it is patents.

The real move for IC practitioners might be less about proving value and more about starting to act like you already have it.

https://wadds.substack.com/p/if-92-of-corporate-value-is-intangible

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