While the stock market enjoyed a banner year in 2024, some stocks fared poorly.
The reasons for their struggles vary. The business structure did not work, a turnaround plan failed, the market dried up and global sales fell.
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And of course, investors lost confidence and were able to get much higher returns elsewhere, like Palantir Technologies. (PLT) the S&P 500's top performer in 2024.
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In fact, some 98 Standard & Poor's 500 stocks suffered double-digit declines in a year in which the index rose more than 23%, in addition to a 24% gain in 2023.
Here are the five worst performers of the S&P 500
Walgreens Boots Alliance: A global healthcare strategy didn't work (down 64%)
Walgreens Boot Alliance (AMB) It was cobbled together with a giant American pharmacy chain and a British counterpart. The goal was to be a one-stop shop for basic healthcare needs.
The strategy did not work.
There were too many stores, few customers, and intense competition from other pharmacy chains, as well as companies like Walmart. (WMT) Aim (TGT) Hooks (K.R.) Albertson (ACI) and Costco wholesale (COST) .
Walgreens Boots was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in February and replaced by amazon.com (AMZN) . Now, Walgreens is working on a plan to go private.
Intel: A legendary technology company overwhelmed by change (down 60%)
Intel (INTC) It was once among the most admired and feared chipmakers, especially when the legendary Andy Grove was CEO.
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Intel chips powered almost all of the personal computers used by Microsoft. (MSFT) Windows operating system for years. However, competition increased, starting with Advanced Micro Devices. (amd) offering processors similar to those of Intel.
And then the business changed. PC sales stagnated. The Internet and cloud computing broke out, and now artificial intelligence. Its chip design and construction strategy was supplanted by companies like Taiwan Semiconductor (SST) which manufactures chips according to customers' specifications. Former CEO Pat Gelsinger's dream of building foundries in the United States has stalled.
Moderna: A hero of the fight against Covid-19 sees his market shrink (down 58%)
Modern (mRNA) was the brave pharmaceutical company that came up with a viable vaccine to protect millions of people against Covid-19.
More stock returns in 2024
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stocks soared more than 2,000% during the pandemic as people rushed to receive vaccines and then boosters. But the pandemic subsided and, worse, more and more patients stopped receiving vaccines.
The problem then became what the company's next big thing would be. So far, the answer is unclear and many investors have given up waiting.
Celanese: Global weakness reduces paint and coatings markets (down 55%)
celanese (EC) is one of the big players in paints, coatings and the like.
Many of the company's products depend on stable construction, industrial and automotive markets. The economic slowdown caused first by the Covid-19 pandemic and then by the Federal Reserve's campaign to reduce inflation affected many of its markets and demand plummeted.
The company has cut its dividend, idled its production facilities and cut costs as it waits for its customers' businesses to revive.
Estee Lauder: a cosmetics and beauty giant sees big obstacles in demand (49% drop)
Estee Lauder is a legendary cosmetics company.
The original Estee Lauder was a highly successful self-made entrepreneur. She was the only woman in Time magazine's 1998 list of the 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.
Today, his company competes globally and the demand outlook is weak, especially in China, one of Lauder's key markets.
Profits are down 64% from reported levels in 2022. Analysts project fiscal 2025 sales to be around $15 billion, down 4% from a year ago.
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