Welcome to week 22 of my stock-picking throwdown with Mr. Market. Let's get right to the numbers:
Company |
Starting Price* |
Recent Price |
Total Return |
---|---|---|---|
Akamai |
$22.23 |
$15.51 |
(30.2%) |
Harris & Harris |
$6.22 |
$4.01 |
(35.5%) |
IBM |
$128.33** |
$87.18 |
(32.1%) |
Oracle |
$22.75 |
$17.62 |
(22.5%) |
Taiwan Semiconductor |
$10.34 |
$7.54 |
(27.1%) |
Average Return |
-- |
-- |
(29.48%) |
S&P 500 SPDR |
$125.26** |
$91.04 |
(27.32%) |
Difference |
-- |
-- |
(2.16%) |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
*Tracking began on Aug. 7, 2008.
**Adjusted for dividends and other returns of capital.
Once again, the gulf widens. My tech portfolio improved slightly; Mr. Market improved more. I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't at least a little frustrated. Aren't most investors nowadays?
Still, I was expecting better. This was tech's big week. The iFaithful descended on San Francisco for the annual Macworld trade show, while the rest of the tech world trekked to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show.
Apple
Yet the week's biggest winner could be Palm
Well done, sirs. Crow, meet mouth.
If there's a lesson to be had here, it's that today's panic is often tomorrow's opportunity. David Gardner produced a decade of 20% returns by buying and holding disruptive winners in the real-money Rule Breaker portfolio. Tom Gardner's "simpleton portfolio" was also a market-beater. I believe that, with these five tech stocks, I will achieve similar success.
Checkup time!
Now, let's move on to the rest of today's update:
- Earlier today, Taiwan Semiconductor reported a 55% drop in December sales. A sluggish global economy has crimped demand. Analysts see continued weakness through the first quarter, Reuters reports.
There's your checkup. See you back here next week for more tech stock talk.
Get your clicks with more techie Foolishness:
- Tech isn't immune from scandal, it turns out.
- Steve Jobs isn't well, but he isn't leaving Apple.
- Is Facebook better than a Christmas card?
- Here's where the iEmpire should invest.