The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) began 2022 flying high. The blue chip index reached its all-time closing zenith at 36,799.65 points on Jan. 4, 2022. But from there, the rest of the year was rocky.
Volatility shook stock values all year long, as investors were spooked by fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rate hikes.
These five companies, all listed in the Dow, took the brunt of the fallout, landing themselves in the bottom of the year’s 30 blue chip performers. We explain more about which ones they are and how they found themselves in this list.
3M Company
A huge decline in 3M Company’s (MMM) – Get Free Report stock from Jan. 3 saw its price fall from $177.74 on Jan. 3 to just over $120 on the last trading day before Christmas. So what accounted for the multinational conglomerate’s industry, worker safety, health care and consumer goods company? The stock, after a July boost from announced plans to spin off its health care operations to a separate entity, encountered litigation risks. These were attributed to lawsuits about faulty earplugs causing hearing problems. A move to file for bankruptcy for Aearo Technologies, an acquisition the company made in 2008, managed to anger veterans. The stock continues to be popular because of its dividend history, and will be one to watch in 2023.
NIKE
Nike (NKE) – Get Free Report came back down to earth in 2022.
While the company’s stock was one of the pandemic’s darlings, shares have dropped nearly 35% (as of December 15).
The culprit: a retail environment that has seen slowing demand amid inflationary pressure and the looming threat of a recession.
One of the steepest drops came in late September after the company issued a profit warning, cautioning that “higher markdowns” will be needed to reduce its global inventory.
“There are record high levels of inventory across the sector with demand slowing. Nike’s 150 [basis points] increase in markdown pressure one quarter into the company’s calendar [fiscal year] is indicative of a fragile environment,” Cowen’s John Kernan said,…
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