2024 has been a generally outstanding year for the stock market, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.82%) up by nearly 30% year to date as of Dec. 11. However, not all stocks have performed nearly this well –- in fact, some components of the S&P 500 have underperformed the benchmark index by as much as 90 percentage points.
Here are the five worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 in 2024, and what to keep in mind before you buy any of them.
Company (Stock Symbol) | Price change YTD |
|---|---|
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA -5.57%) | -60.1% |
Intel (INTC -0.20%) | -59.9% |
Moderna (MRNA 3.25%) | -58.3% |
Celanese (CE -2.31%) | -55.2% |
Dollar Tree (DLTR -1.61%) | -48.8% |
Data source: yCharts. Performance as of 12/11/2024.
Should you buy these while they’re cheap?
First, it’s important to note that all of these are down for a reason. For example, Moderna is struggling with disappointing COVID-19 vaccine sales and an unclear path to future revenue growth. As another example, Walgreens’ sales are rapidly losing ground to online competitors. But the point is that something has gone wrong in each of these businesses.
All of these could certainly end up being bargains at their current valuations, and in full disclosure, Moderna happens to be high on my watch list right now. Having said that, there’s a lot that needs to go right before any of these stocks get back to where they were at the start of the year. Executing a turnaround strategy is never easy, so be sure you believe in a management team’s plan before investing with these companies.
Matt Frankel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intel. The Motley Fool recommends Moderna and recommends the following options: short February 2025 $27 calls on Intel. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
