In business as in all things, there are winners and losers. Here are our best guesses for what companies, trends and industries are going to get big next year, and which ones will fizzle.
The article is part of the Fortune 2018 Crystal Ball, our predictions for the year ahead. Find the whole list here.
NOT HOT: Uber
Despite stabilization efforts at the company (including a huge cash infusion from SoftBank), Uber will keep losing ground to its smaller rivals.
HOT: Lyft
The ride-sharing startup will continue to benefit from Uber’s scandals (and a focus on business travel), with market share speeding from 21% in early 2017 to more than 30% in 2018.
NOT HOT: Opioid distributors and manufacturers
They’ll be forced to rethink their practices under mounting litigation filed by cities, counties, and states, not to mention growing public pressure.
HOT: Lawyers
Someone has to benefit from the tide of lawsuits coming at opioid manufacturers— particularly if drugmakers pay out a multibillion-dollar settlement.
NOT HOT: Podcasts
The airwaves have reached the saturation point for three guys and a Patreon account. A shakeout is coming.
HOT: Fanny packs
Call it normcore, or call it practical. The fanny pack, already gracing the frames of several Kardashians, will hit more shop floors in 2018.
NOT HOT: Mom and pop weed companies
Quickening industry consolidation will nip many aspiring cannabiz moguls in the bud.
HOT: Pot for pets
Pet edibles are the next doggy Prozac. It’s just one market that will get smoking hot when legal recreational weed goes on sale in California in January.
NOT HOT: $100 yoga pants
Lululemon and other stalwarts of the “athleisure” craze will lose market share as people who actually exercise realize there’s no point in working out in expensive clothes.
HOT: $500 yoga pants
Sure, malls are flailing, but the priciest among them (a.k.a. “Class A” malls, featuring racks of designer labels) still have strong growth prospects
NOT HOT: Cable Companies
Analysts predict that the pace of cord-cutting will increase in 2018. By end of 2017, a collective 22.2 million Americans had already said “bye-bye” to their cable TV providers, representing a 33.2% increase in declines when compared to the year before. According to research firms like eMarketer, those losses will only rise next year—and the next, and the next.
HOT: Cable Companies
Also expected to rise? Cable providers’ bottom lines: As traditional TV subscriptions continue to plummet, companies like Comcast and Verizon are seeing growth in their broadband business.
A version of this article appears in the Dec. 1, 2017 issue of Fortune as part of the Fortune 2018 Crystal Ball package. Click here to see our full list of predictions.
