The new year has definitely started off on the right foot for most investors -- myself included. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2% year-to-date and the financial sector appears to be righting itself, with Bank of America, currently the top-performing Dow component, up 23%.
Unfortunately, following earnings reports from Alcoa
What I'd like to do is remind everyone that investing in a company because the results appear less bad than once predicted is not... I repeat, not... an investment strategy; it's investing suicide. Just because a company meets or beats lowered guidance or manages to exceed extremely subdued expectations doesn't mean there's cause for celebration.
A steal of a steel?
Let's look back at Alcoa. On Monday, the world's largest aluminum manufacturer slightly missed earnings estimates and forecast a moderate 7% bump in aluminum demand for 2012. What might seem like decent news at first really isn't if you dig a bit deeper. Demand weakness from the European sovereign debt crisis and soft aluminum pricing is likely to chase future Alcoa earnings estimates down even further. In fact, over the past week, the average analyst estimate on Yahoo! Finance has fallen from a full-year expectation of $0.87 to just $0.62.
Gross-er!
This turning a blind eye isn't just happening with Alcoa. SUPERVALU
The roof is on fire
Lennar's
Foolish roundup
We're not even through two full weeks of 2012 yet, and I've been able to locate three examples of "less-bad" results that could be unwittingly luring investors in. Keep your eyes peeled to overall sector trends and realize that just because a company meets or beats lowered expectations doesn't necessarily make that company or sector a good investment. Remember, "less bad" is still bad!
Have you ever fallen into the trap of buying into a company because the results were less bad than expected? Share your stories in the comments section below and consider adding Alcoa, SUPERVALU, and Lennar to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with each company.
Also, if you're looking for a great idea to start the new year off and don't want to worry about "less-bad" results, I invite you to download our latest special report, "3 Stocks That Will Help You Retire Rich." Why worry about timing a bottom when our analysts have done the research and located three tried-and-true winners. Best of all, this report is free for a limited time only, so don't miss out!