These 3 Dow Stocks Got Torched Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX: ^DJI  ) finished up close to flat today. But some names got hit hard. These three tumbled the most:

Company	Today's Stock Price Change
Travelers (NYSE: TRV  )	(2.1%)
Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG  )	(1.8%)
Verizon (NYSE: VZ  )	(1.5%)

Each of these companies reports their quarterly earnings later this week. Travelers and Verizon will report tomorrow, whereas Procter & Gamble will be reporting on Friday.

Travelers is coming off a difficult 2011 for property and casualty insurance. Losses pushed its combined ratio up to 104.5% in its third quarter, meaning it paid out more in claims than it earned in premiums. But barring any major disasters, it's expected to report much better earnings tomorrow -- $1.46 per share versus $0.80 in the previous quarter, or $1.98 in the previous year's fourth quarter.

For Procter & Gamble, the consensus earnings estimate among the dart-throwers is for $1.13 per share, down slightly from $1.12 in last year's quarter. But not all's wrong with the consumer products stalwart, despite an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus cutting its earnings estimate today; investors will want to keep an eye on how P&G's fast-growing international operations are coming along. In the last year alone, they've increased nearly 7% to $52.1 billion.

Verizon is expected to report earnings of $0.49 per share tomorrow, versus $0.52 in last year's quarter. Eager investors will also finally find out how many iPhone subscribers Verizon added since the launch of Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) iPhone 4S. Apple is also reporting tomorrow. Analysts expect it to generate some $39 billion in sales, including 30 million iPhone and 13 million iPads. Wow.

Today Travelers, Procter & Gamble, and Verizon got torched, but it's important for us to remember that what happens to stocks on a day-to-day basis matters far less than their long-term performance. If you're interested in one stock that our chief investment officer has picked to crush the market in 2012, check out our brand new report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2012." It highlights a company that is revolutionizing commerce in Latin America. For a limited time, you can get instant access to the name of this company by clicking here – and it's free.