Psst! Don’t tell anyone, but …
It’s tough enough when your company has an off year or two.
It’s worse when The Wall Street Journal tells the whole world about it.
Case in point, Lexington’s very own Lexmark International.
In Monday’s Journal Report, the newspaper calculated the returns on a $1,000 investment in various major stocks.
It reported that Lexmark was the 20th “worst performer” after one year, with a 52.4 percent decline in value.
It didn’t end there.
After three years, Lexmark was the 14th worst, with a dip of 25.7 percent; after five years, the 10th worst, down 10.4 percent.
The company even earned a spot on the Journal’s “Biggest Reversals of Fortune” chart.
The Journal said Lexmark’s total return was a healthy 63.3 percent in 2006 before it dipped to a negative return of 52.4 percent in 2007.
The swing – 115.7 percentage points – gave Lexmark the 11th-biggest “reversal of fortune” on the chart.
It must have been a cheerful Monday out at Lexmark.
