Growth-share matrix (BCG matrix)

The growth-share matrix, or BCG matrix, is a Boston Consulting Group framework that divides businesses into four types by market share and market growth.

By Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Updated 7 October 2026.

Example

Four product lines in the matrix
Product line	Market share	Market growth	Type
Trail running shoes	High	High	Star
Everyday socks	High	Low	Cash cow
Smart insoles	Low	High	Question mark
Cotton laces	Low	Low	Dog

Share and growth drop each line into a quadrant, and each quadrant comes with its own investment advice, from backing the star to retiring the laces. Illustrative data.

For one product, and for an account

The BCG matrix was built for a company’s businesses or product lines. Its two axes, market share and market growth, describe a market. Neither says anything about what one product earns from your ads. Boston Consulting Group’s logic is that market leadership leads to sustainable superior returns.

Product Metrics borrows some of the names and none of the axes. Its six segments (Stars, Question Marks, Cash Cows, Dogs, Drainers and Ghosts) are set by volume (ad clicks) and return (ROAS or POAS against your target), and it does not claim to implement the BCG model.

Common mistake

Hearing ‘Star’ and thinking BCG. A BCG Star has a high market share in a fast-growing market; a Star in Product Segmentation earned its place on volume and return.

Questions

What are the four quadrants of the BCG matrix?

Stars have high growth and high share. Cash cows have low growth and high share. Question marks have high growth and low share. Pets, often drawn as dogs, have low share and low growth. Boston Consulting Group places businesses in these four types.

What is the BCG matrix used for?

It helps a company decide where to put investment across its businesses. Boston Consulting Group suggests investing significantly in stars, taking cash from cash cows to reinvest, investing in or discarding question marks depending on their chance of becoming stars, and liquidating, divesting or repositioning pets.

Are Product Metrics segments the same as the BCG matrix?

No. The names overlap, but Product Metrics segments each product by its own ad volume and return, while the matrix places businesses by market share and growth. Product Metrics also has two segments the matrix lacks: Drainers and Ghosts.

Sources

BCG: What is the growth-share matrix?

Keep reading

Product SegmentationSee each product in one of six segments, by volume and return.
ROASThe return measure behind a product’s segment.
Break-even ROAS per productSet the return bar a product has to clear.