Back to Home11/19/2025, 7:35:01 AM

Why do some industries naturally collapse into duopolies?

1 points
1 comments

Mood

thoughtful

Sentiment

neutral

Category

business

Key topics

market structure

duopoly

industry consolidation

competition

The post asks why some industries naturally collapse into duopolies, sparking a discussion on the conditions that lead to market convergence and dominance by two players.

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Light discussion

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1

Hour 1

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  1. 01Story posted

    11/19/2025, 7:35:01 AM

    2h ago

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  2. 02First comment

    11/19/2025, 7:35:01 AM

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  3. 03Peak activity

    1 comments in Hour 1

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  4. 04Latest activity

    11/19/2025, 7:35:01 AM

    2h ago

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Discussion (1 comments)
Showing 1 comments
d_e_solomon
2h ago
Looking at aircraft manufacturing, semiconductors, cloud computing, and even smartphones, some sectors seem to settle into a stable duopoly, often for decades.

In other industries, competition stays fragmented, even when the products appear simpler or less capital intensive.

I’m curious how HN thinks about this: – What specific conditions cause a market to converge into two dominant players?

1. Is it mostly capital intensity, switching costs, regulation, or something else? 2. And which industries today are showing early signs of heading toward a duopoly?

I’m trying to better understand the mechanics behind “natural” industry consolidation.

ID: 45976825Type: storyLast synced: 11/19/2025, 7:36:16 AM

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