Over the past month, a few of the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (^DJI +1.24%) best-known companies have been a drag on the index's performance. Disappointing earnings in the third quarter or guidance that fell below expectations has sent Disney (DIS +7.60%), Intel (INTC +4.36%), and 3M (MMM +2.60%) all sharply lower in recent weeks. But for the long-term investor, this provides a nice buying opportunity.
Disney's stock crashed 6% on Friday after CEO Bob Iger said that he expected some higher costs in the near term that could affect profits. Iger has a long history of making strong strategic investments in Disney's future, and I think the drop is a short-term opportunity for investors. The stock currently trades at 12.2 times next year's earnings and pays a 1.3% dividend. The company recently announced the acquisition of Lucasfilm, which will add the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises to a studio that already includes Marvel, Pixar, and Disney's legacy film business. Now, more than ever, content is the key in the entertainment business, and Disney owns some of the best content in film.
Intel's stock has been absolutely crushed as PC sales have disappointed and Intel faces challenges getting a foothold in the tablet and smartphone markets. It's even been rumored that Apple (AAPL +1.18%) may dump the company's chips for an internally developed version for the MacBook. It's been a flood of bad news for Intel, yet the company continues to make money, and these current deficiencies provide upside if the company can execute on expanding its reach in the mobile business. The stock currently trades at just 9 times trailing earnings and 10.6 times forward earnings, and you get a 4.3% dividend yield. Not bad, even if the PC market continues to struggle.
Finally, 3M reported disappointing third-quarter sales, and the stock was hit as a result. What I think is going overlooked is that the sales miss was largely due to currency translation, which is a negative for 3M when the dollar is strong. But 3M did post positive organic sales growth, so the core of the company is growing. New CEO Inge Thulin recently said he would increase spending on R&D and set a more realistic growth target of 4% to 6% per year that would no longer be driven by acquisition. The projected growth rate may not be a big number, but with the stock trading at 13 times forward earnings and paying a 2.7% dividend, I think it makes for a good value.
