Here Are the 7 Worst Performing Stocks in the Fortune 500 in 2016
It was a stock market party for investors following Donald Trump’s election Nov. 8. Financials soared, big pharma breathed a sigh of relief, while industrials surged on Trump’s promises to deregulate, cut taxes, and boost infrastructure spending. The Dow pushed beyond 19,000, and the S&P 500 rose 12% in the year.
Yet, some of the country’s biggest companies by revenue seemed to have lost the invitation. While the worst performers prior to Trump’s win would’ve been a mix of retail, health care, and energy stocks, the “Trump bump” pushed each company out of the lowest position on Fortune’s 2016 list of biggest stock market losers on the Fortune 500.
It was hospitals stocks that replaced them. Health care facilities were weighed down by concerns that Trump would pull back on the Affordable Care Act—leaving more people uninsured, and leading fewer patients to the doctor’s office. Other stock market losers on the Fortune 500, which ranks companies by revenue rather than market cap, have been steadily losing investor confidence over the years by failing to keep up with a shifting industry.
Fortune has compiled the biggest stock market losers in 2016. These companies have earned between $ 5.4 billion to $ 25.1 billion in 2015, and seen their stocks fall as much as 75% over the course of 2016
Place on the Fortune 500: 436
Price Change: -34.7%Jones Lang LaSalle sells and leases commercial properties, deriving most of its revenue from fees and commissions. So although it beat analyst expectations in the first half of the year, shares of this company took a dip amid fears that the growth of the commercial real estate market, which has been humming along for more than seven years, had peaked.
It’s hard to deny that industry has come off of its 2015 highs. Jones Lang noted that that global investment volume for the commercial real estate market had fallen by 4% in the fourth quarter of 2016, in comparison to a year earlier. Share of Jones Lang (jll) fell even further in June, following the U.K.’s decision to leave the EU. After all, the real estate company draws roughly 17% of its revenues from the U.K.
But Jones Lang’s stock has received some reprieve following Trump’s election in November. According to Marcus and Millichap, the real estate mogul’s plan to increase infrastructure spending could lead to more jobs and stronger wage growth—both positives for the commercial real estate sector in the U.S.
6. Essendant
Place on the Fortune 500: 477
Price Change: -35%
Shares of this office equipment wholesaler, formerly known as United Stationers, cratered in July following second quarter earnings that disappointed investors. The company also reduced its 2016 outlook twice during the year, citing “significant headwinds.” By September, the company said that earnings could be as much as $ 275 million less than expected. According to the company’s management, the earnings misses this year were led by consumers shifting away from high-profit-margin products and toward less profitable items such as paper and toner. Essendant’s customers have been large-order customers—which also come with lower profit margins than their small to mid-sized counterparts.
5. Kindred Healthcare
Place on the Fortune 500: 372
Price Change: -37%
While the S&P 500 soared in 2016, hospital stocks did not benefit from investor’s exuberance. Kindred Healthcare was no exception. Despite beating analyst expectations in the first and second quarters of the year, the company has still disappointed investors with poor revenue growth in its hospital division this year. Then, in the third quarter, management then lowered its full year 2016 revenue guidance to $ 7.2 billion, down from a range of $ 7.2 billion to $ 7.3 billion. According to Kindred executives, the company’s earnings have suffered due to rising costs in its nursing business—which it is now trying to exit—and changes in the criteria hospitals must meet in order to receive Medicare payment for long-term acute care.
4. Sears Holdings
Place on the Fortune 500: 111
Price Change: -44%
“Is Sears going out of business?”
That’s the most searched ‘’is” question about Sears on Google. That’s a pretty good indicator for how the department store holding giant has fared over the past half decade.
The holding company, which owns both Kmart and Sears, has posted declines in comparable sales, a key metric that excludes data from closed stores, each year since 2011—and that measure has fallen even more dramatically this year. In order to soothe Sears’s cash crunch, the company has shuttered hundreds of stores in the past few years and looked into potentially selling some key brands such as Kenmore and DieHard. Like its peers, Sears has tried to reinvent itself as consumers increasingly veer toward online shopping. But a rough retail environment can explain just a part of those woes. Sears has underperformed its competitors such as J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, and Macy’s. So while other retailers got a boost from the “Trump Bump” in November, Sears Holding was left in the dust.
In response to rumors of a potential bankruptcy or the shuttering of its Kmart brand though, CEO Eddie Lambert has been vehement in his denial, and has asked investors to trust in his turnaround plan. Instead, investors mostly fled in 2016.
3. Tenet Healthcare
Place on the Fortune 500: 140
Price Change: -50%
Hospital operator Tenet Healthcare didn’t have an easy 2016. The hospital operator missed earnings expectations in the past two quarters of the year, though revenue continued its climb 3.3% in the most recent quarter on a year-over-year basis, to $ 4.85 billion. Then, in October, the company agreed to pay $ 514 million to settle allegations from the Department of Justice that it had violated federal kickback laws.
It could’ve been much worse for Tenet, though. Shares of the company have ticked upward since the president-elect made comments suggesting that he wouldn’t repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety—a move that would benefit hospital operators, as the insured are more likely to seek care.
2. Hertz Global Holdings
Place on the Fortune 500: 269
Price Change: -59%
Even after adjusting for the rental car giant’s spinoff deal earlier this year, Hertz Global Holdings is still the second worst performing stock on the Fortune 500 for 2016. The company has missed analyst expectations in all but two quarters since 2013, as Hertz’s existing fleet continues to depreciate, and fewer consumers use its rental service—in part due to emergence of ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. In November, Hertz slashed its full-year 2016 forecast from a profit of $ 2.75-$ 3.50 per share down to 51 cents-88 cents per share.
1. Community Heath Systems
Place on the Fortune 500: 125
Price Change: -74.8%
This distressed hospital operator shed $ 2.36 billion in market cap over the course of 2016, in part due to a worrying level of debt: $ 15.4 billion, much of which is tied to its 2014 purchase of Health Management Associates. As a result, Community Health has been selling off assets as it continues to disappoint investors with lower revenue and even losses in its struggles to turn around. Community Health Systems has put over 17 hospitals up for sale.
Now the stock is on even shakier grounds as investors lay in wait for further direction from Donald Trump on the future of the Affordable Care Act.
