By
Seth Jayson
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October 26, 2006
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Pity poor Chuck. He's a great investor and number-cruncher, but he's got to argue for a stock that simply doesn't have what it takes.
As for the 9% divvy growth he touts, permit me a big yawn.
I computed the full, dividend-adjusted, compound annual growth rate of an investment in Wrigley (NYSE: WWY ) from 1995 until 2006. At 9.1%, it may look impressive in isolation. But over that same period, the S&P 500 index returned 9.3% on the same basis. Losing out to the index is never my goal -- nor, I imagine, would it be Chuck's. And as I explained in the front end of this duel, Wrigley is already priced for better growth than reality is likely to provide.
A final note: I hope that no one is too excited about yesterday's big management change, because it looks skin-deep to me. Bill Wrigley Jr. claims to be handing over the reins to former Johnson Wax and Nike (NYSE: NKE ) exec William Perez. Yet Big W is staying on as chairman of the board, and assuming the new role of "executive chairman."
That sounds to me like "meddler-in-chief," which I think means that Perez will have his hands tied, as he did at Nike. His too-brief stint there was characterized by turf battles and lackluster returns. I see no reason to expect much different from Wrigley today.
Duel on!
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At the time of publication, Seth Jayson had no positions in the stocks in this story. View his stock holdings and Fool profile here. See what he's Digging these days. Fool rules are here.
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