15 Companies That Might Not Survive 2009

I wanted to call your attention to an article in US News and World Reports by Rick Newman that lists 15 Companies that Might Not Survive 2009.

To me, it’s a scary list because many of the companies are not obscure, “never heard of them” names, but commonplace businesses, some of which have national reach.

For example, I’ve visited a Six Flags (SIX) theme park almost every year growing up.  It’s stock now trades at $0.33 and made the list.

Rite-Aid (RAD) Pharmacies seem to be in most cities, but the economy has taken their share price down to $0.30 as well.

Newman suggests that Blockbuster (BBI), a large video store retailer, might not survive thanks to Netflix and Video-on-Demand services offered through most cable providers.

I posted not too long ago on Sirus Satellite Radio (SIRI) over how surprised I was that the price of their stock fell to $0.10.  Many investors didn’t see that coming.

Finally, we’ve known that Krispy Kreme (KKD) was in trouble for a few years starting with its stock slide in 2004 (peaked around $50) due to the Atkin’s Diet and other anti-carbohydrate (and sugar) trends but its stock now trades at $1.50 and could face bankruptcy.

For a complete list of the companies, reference Newman’s full article.  Let these stocks be a reminder that you probably shouldn’t try to pick bottoms or buy a stock only because it’s cheap.  After all, when (and if) a company does declare bankruptcy, chances are quite good its stock will fall to $0.00 before all the legal wrangling begins, and if it’s delisted, you lose everything no matter how many thousands of shares you bought up at $0.30 or less (”Hey, it’s only $300!”).

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