A punishing recession officially began in 2008. The financial pressure drove many companies out of business, while the survivors generally adapted and got stronger.
It was four years ago that a punishing recession officially began. The financial pressure drove many companies out of business, while the survivors generally adapted and got stronger. But some firms are still struggling, whether from delayed effects of the recession, relentless competition, fresh strategic blunders or a turnaround plan that hasn't panned out. While a double-dip recession seems unlikely in 2012, CEOs are intently watching for a financial crisis in Europe or policy mistakes in the United States that could weaken the economy. And consumer spending, surprisingly strong in 2011, could decline once again, as overspent consumers get nervous. There's plenty that could go wrong, in other words, even though the economy is supposedly recovering. To identify companies with the thinnest margin for error, the author analyzed data on stock prices, expected 2012 earnings and other financial measures provided by S&P Capital IQ, a financial-information firm. The companies highlighted here had a weak year-to-date stock performance through mid-December 2011, indicating deep investor worry. These are also firms likely to have weak earnings in the future, according to Capital IQ's summary of analyst forecasts for 2012 and beyond.
There probably will not be a fresh surge of bankruptcies in 2012, but in some industries there's likely to be consolidation as weak firms succumb to stronger ones. Plus, the usual forces of competition always produce winners and losers. Here are 11 prominent firms likely to struggle in 2012:
- Eastman Kodak
- Research in Motion
- Office Max
- Monster Worldwide
- Bank of America
- Netflix
- KB Home
- HP
- Sears
- Best Buy
- Washington Post
No comments:
Post a Comment