Fatal Board · VIDEO ESSAY

The Fascinating Story of Garmin: The $7 Billion GPS Empire That Outsmarted Google Maps

Subscribe to the channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCb0ps9eCp0y6yP1Xg4sDDFw?sub_confirmation=1 In 1989, two engineers rented a room in Lenexa, Kansas, and named their company after themselves: GAR from Gary Burrell, MIN from Min Kao. Twenty years later, on October 29, 2009, Google announced it was giving away, free and forever, the exact product they had built their business on. Garmin stock fell 16 percent in a single session. TomTom fell 20. Today Garmin is a $7.25 billion company having the best year in its history, worth about $56.5 billion. TomTom is worth about $590 million. This is the story of the decision that made the difference — made quietly, in the 1990s, and mocked as old-fashioned for fifteen years afterward. It runs through a $2,500 marine unit from 1990, a $3.3 billion bid Garmin walked away from in November 2007, a phone that embarrassed the company in 2010, a running watch built in 2003 by employees who ran, and a glass cockpit that Google cannot legally touch. If one of these was on your windshield, this is your era. Sources Garmin Ltd. — Q4 and fiscal year 2025 results (revenue, margins, segment breakdown) https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/corporate/garmin-announces-fourth-quarter-and-fiscal-year-2025-results/ Garmin Ltd. — 2025 Q4 earnings press release, full PDF with segment tables https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2025_Q4_Earnings_Press_Release.pdf Garmin Ltd. — Q4 2025 earnings call transcript https://www8.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/reports/2025GRMNTranscript.pdf Fast Company — Google's turn-by-turn nav sends Garmin and TomTom stocks plummeting (16% and 20%, October 29, 2009) https://www.fastcompany.com/1427604/googles-turn-turn-nav-sends-garmin-tomtom-stocks-plummeting Bloomberg — Garmin and TomTom slash prices amid Google threat https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2009-12-08/garmin-tomtom-slash-prices-amid-google-threat Bloomberg — Garmin withdraws Tele Atlas bid, ceding mapmaker to TomTom (November 16, 2007) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2007-11-16/garmin-withdraws-tele-atlas-bid-ceding-mapmaker-to-tomtom NBC News — Garmin drops $3.3 billion bid for Tele Atlas https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna21835222 RCR Wireless — Garmin drops Tele Atlas bid, extends NAVTEQ contract https://www.rcrwireless.com/20071116/free-reports/garmin-drops-tele-atlas-bid-extends-navteq-contract Fortune — Nokia's $7.7 billion NAVTEQ deal clears the EU https://fortune.com/2008/07/02/nokias-7-7-billion-navteq-deal-clears-the-eu Garmin newsroom (2009) — 2008 unit shipments, 33.7% global PND share, $3.49 billion revenue https://www.garmin.com/en-US/newsroom/press-release/corporate/2009-garmin-is-global-leader-once-again-expanding-market-share/ Fortune — How early GPS gadget maker Garmin mapped out success against Apple and Google (Cliff Pemble interview, 2007 auto segment at $2.3 billion) https://fortune.com/2020/03/16/garmin-survived-gps-revolution/ Harvard Business School, Technology and Operations Management — You'll Be Lost Without It: The Rise, Fall and Rise of Garmin https://aiinstitute.hbs.edu/platform-rctom/submission/youll-be-lost-without-it-the-rise-fall-and-rise-of-garmin/ Wikipedia — Garmin (founding, ProNav, GPS 100, IPO December 8 2000, product timeline, acquisitions, headcount) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmin University of Tennessee Volopedia — Min H. Kao: degrees, 2004 gift, Min Kao Building https://volopedia.lib.utk.edu/entries/min-h-kao/ Stock Analysis — Garmin (GRMN) market capitalization history, 2008 to 2026 https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/grmn/market-cap/ Companies Market Cap — TomTom market capitalization, 2007 peak to today https://companiesmarketcap.com/tomtom/marketcap/ Garmin Ltd. filings on SEC EDGAR https://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch This channel is made by an enthusiast who loves business and technology history — nothing more. All videos are for educational and entertainment purposes only and reflect my personal views and interpretations. I research each story carefully using publicly available sources, but errors or omissions can happen. Nothing here is professional, financial, or legal advice, and this channel is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any company mentioned.