The Ten Losers
10. Cisco (NASDAQ CSCO)
> Current price: $15.40
> YTD Change: Down 24.2%
Long-time chief John Chambers, the dean of Silicon Valley CEOs, finally lost his touch. Cisco has suffered through a year of poor results. Chambers bought dozens of companies over the last decade and then discovered he could not integrate them and make each grow as fast as his firm’s core router operation.
9. Alpha Nat
ural Resources (NYSE: ANR)
> Current price: $46.45
> YTD Change: Down 24.3%
Alpha bought troubled coal company Massey Energy. After a mine disaster that the federal government said could have been prevented the deal looks worse by the day.
8. Motorola Mobility (NYSE: MMI)
> Current price: $22.00
> YTD Change: Down 24.4%
This is the handset unit of what was once known simply as Motorola. Its situation has not gotten any better since it became independent. Its product sales run far behind those of Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and smartphone firms HTC and Samsung. Motorola handsets run the Android operating system, which gives the company almost no distinction in a crowded field.
7. Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC)
> Current price: $37.43
> YTD Change: Down 24.5%
The big IT solution provider has suffered delays in the funding of some of its largest government contracts. Wall St. is particularly concerned about the UK National Health Service agreement, and what it will ultimately cost to implement.
6. Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM)
> Current price: $32.33
> YTD Change: Down 25.6%
Demand for the company’s wireless and broadband chips was down during the first half of the year. The firm’s earnings outlook suffered accordingly. Broadcom also has to compete with some of the most powerful tech companies in the world, including Intel and Qualcomm. Each is bigger, has a stronger balance sheet and a larger market share.
5. Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI)
> Current price: $45.97
>YTD Change: Down 27.6%
This is the other half of the breakup of Motorola. This part of the company sells communications enterprise solutions, mostly to governments. The US is its largest client. The age of austerity will not be kind to Solutions. The planned separation of Motorola into two businesses appears to be troubled
4. Staples (NASDAQ: SPLS)
> Current price: $15.60
> YTD Change: Down 31.5%
The retail office supply business has to be one of the worst in the world. Clients shop price at places as diverse as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Costco (NASDAQ: COST), and direct competitors like Office Depot (NYSE: ODP). It is hard to find an investor who likes the sector, even if Staples is among the better operators in the group.
3. Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM)
> Current price: $30.90
> YTD Change: Down 34.5%
Akamai was one of the original content delivery businesses and was born from the astonishing growth in broadband and the need to distribute video and data. Unfortunately, its core business is now a commodity. Some customers host their own content now. The large Telcos have used their networks to move into the business.
2. Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK)
> Current price: $8.14
> YTD Change: Down 36.1%
The bank lost $555 million in the first quarter. The firm does a great deal of jumbo mortgage lending, which the U.S. government will no longer give the same financial support it once did. And loans to the well-to-do have not escaped the home market collapse as Hudson’s recent results prove.
1. AIG (NYSE AIG)
>Current price: $29.14
> YTD Change: Down 49.4%
AIG nearly went bankrupt during the credit crisis. It is back in trouble again. The operating companies left after the sale of many of its assets are not particularly impressive. The firm dumped what it could to pay back taxpayers. Three-quarters of the company’s shares are held by the federal government, which has already begun a sales process.
Data as of close 6/29
Douglas A. McIntyre
