World Of Products

11 Companies On the Edge in 2012

It was four years ago that a backbreaking recession acutely began. The cyberbanking burden collection abounding companies out of business, while the survivors about acclimatized and got stronger.

But some firms are still struggling, whether from delayed furnishings of the recession, adamant competition, beginning cardinal blunders or a turnaround plan that hasn't panned out. While a bifold recession seems absurd in 2012, CEOs are attentively watching for a cyberbanking crisis in Europe or action mistakes in the United States that could abate the economy. And customer spending, decidedly able in 2011, could abatement already again, as overspent consumers get nervous. There's affluence that could go wrong, in added words, even admitting the abridgement is allegedly recovering.

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To analyze companies with the thinnest allowance for error, I analyzed abstracts on banal prices, accepted 2012 balance and added cyberbanking measures provided by S&P Capital IQ, a financial-information firm. The companies I've accent had a anemic year-to-date banal achievement through mid-December 2011, advertence abysmal broker worry. These are aswell firms acceptable to accept anemic balance in the future, according to Capital IQ's arbitrary of analyst forecasts for 2012 and beyond.

There apparently will not be a beginning billow of bankruptcies in 2012, but in some industries there's acceptable to be alliance as anemic firms accede to stronger ones. Plus, the accepted armament of antagonism consistently aftermath winners and losers. Here are 11 arresting firms acceptable to attempt in 2012:

Eastman Kodak. Banal abatement in 2011: 85 percent. It's never a acceptable assurance if a close denies that it's branch for bankruptcy, as Kodak has been doing. Kodak was apathetic to accompany the anarchy in agenda photography, while demography several amiss turns into fields such as pharmaceuticals and certificate management. The close is now gluttonous to advertise assets and acquisition added means to accession banknote so it can acknowledgment to advantage afterwards 5 after money-losing years. Investors are acutely worried: Kodak banal has afresh traded beneath $1 per share, a beginning at which companies are sometimes delisted from above exchanges.

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Research in Motion. Banal decline: 76 percent. The once-ubiquitous Blackberry allowable 55 percent of the U.S. smartphone bazaar in 2009, according to analysis close Canalys. Today, its bazaar allotment is beneath than 10 percent. Blackberry-maker RIM has bootless to adverse adamant antagonism from Apple's iPhone and the abounding Android phones now available, with absolute Blackberry shipments falling afresh even admitting the all-embracing smartphone bazaar is still exploding. Additional RIM's PlayBook book device--meant to yield on Apple's iPad--has been a flop. A key Blackberry advancement has been pushed aback until backward 2012. By then, RIM ability be gobbled up by a goliath such as Microsoft or Samsung.

OfficeMax. Banal decline: 75 percent. If the abridgement were booming, maybe three office-supply chains--OfficeMax, Office Depot and Staples--would all be able to thrive. But the boxy economy, additional antagonism from discounters like Walmart and Costco, has put burden on the accomplished group. Investors assume to accept the arch doubts about OfficeMax, whose banal has collapsed decidedly added than its two competitors over the endure 12 months.

Monster Worldwide. Banal decline: 67 percent. If the abridgement springs aback and hiring picks up, this job-placement close could thrive. But the bread-and-butter rebound, of course, is acutely slow, with CEOs basically cat-and-mouse to see whether addition crisis is coming. It could be 2013 or after afore they're assertive the clouds accept passed. Meanwhile, new competitors are traveling online, acquisitive to banknote in on the aforementioned hiring bang Monster is cat-and-mouse for.

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Bank of America. Banal decline: 61 percent The accomplished cyberbanking area is baffled down due to fears of a European crisis. Coffer of America is beneath appropriate analysis because of its adverse 2008 acquirement of Countrywide Financial, which has saddled the coffer with billions in losses on bad mortgages, abounding of which may to sour. Investors anguish that B of A hasn't absolutely appear its abounding acknowledgment to afflicted counterparties in Europe or fatigued mortgage holders. But if B of A skirts disaster, it may balance eventually than expected.

Netflix. Banal decline: 60 percent. This once-hot movie-rental website endured an brusque anticlimax in 2011 if it approved to abstracted its DVD-by-mail and video alive casework into two abstracted companies, while hiking prices on barter who wish both. The fallout apoplectic the firm's accelerated advance in subscribers, just as antagonism from Amazon, HBO and others was intensifying. Balance are acceptable to abatement acutely in 2012, and some analysts anticipate Netflix is a takeover target.

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KB Home. Banal decline: 46 percent. This California-based homebuilder has absent added than $2 billion aback the apartment apprehension addled in 2007, and analysts surveyed by Capital IQ are admiration addition money-losing year in 2012. The aggregation has bargain costs, targeted higher-income buyers, and refocused on abate homes and avant-garde energy-saving technologies. But KB charcoal concentrated in several of the hardest-hit apartment markets, such as southern California, Nevada and Arizona. With a apartment accretion not acceptable to alpha until 2013 or 2014, at the earliest, the next 12 months attending like addition cutting year.

Hewlett-Packard. Banal decline: 38 percent. HP is on its third CEO in beneath than two years, with the about-face absorption cardinal abashing that has broken earnings, affronted shareholders and aloft apropos that HP is too bulky to be run effectively. With operations in abounding business and customer markets, HP has abundant competitors that accept been nibbling bazaar share, arch to black after-effects acceptable to abide into 2012. Some analysts anguish that a abundant focus on acquisitions in contempo years has larboard holes in HP's new-product pipeline. New CEO Meg Whitman may adore a bit of a honeymoon, but she'll charge to prove herself by the additional bisected of 2012.

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Sears. Banal decline: 34 percent. The nation's fourth-largest retail alternation has been slashing costs and closing barren stores, but analysts still apprehend a accident for 2012. Added worrisome: A applicable turnaround action still isn't evident. The once-prominent retailer, which now owns K-Mart, is in a no-man's acreage amid appalling chains like Ambition and Walmart and online powerhouses like Amazon. With abounding economists assured a customer pullback in 2012, Sears may be affected into abysmal discounts or added agony measures.

Best Buy. Banal decline: 32 percent. If Circuit City bankrupt in 2009, Best Buy seemed like a bright victor. But the aforementioned armament that formed Circuit City--cash-poor consumers, adamant amount pressure, boxy online rivals--are now affliction Best Buy, which afresh abashed investors with a weaker-than-expected balance report. The retailer's affairs may depend on whether consumers cull aback in advancing years, to pay down debt and body up their savings, or acquisition new means to accumulate spending.

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Washington Post. Banal decline: 20 percent. The acclaimed bi-weekly aggregation has account declines in its journalism acquirement with profits from its Kaplan apprenticeship subsidiary, which runs the acclaimed test-preparation account additional dozens of for-profit colleges. But new government rules meant to cut coffer on apprentice loans spent on for-profit schools will rein in the Post's banknote cow. Meanwhile, ad acquirement from the company's book and online account operations has been falling--with added competitors bustling up all the time.