Telecom is a big loser
 Looking at the losers, it was easier to spot a trend. Telecom is still in a major world of hurt. Wireless carriers and telecom equipment companies were particularly woeful performers. Ten wireless carriers have lost more than half their value this year and four of those ranked among the ten biggest losers.


The losers ranged from national carriers like Sprint PCS (PCS: Research, Estimates) and Nextel (NXTL: Research, Estimates) to smaller regional affiliates such as Airgate PCS (PCSA: Research, Estimates) and Western Wireless (WWCA: Research, Estimates).

Greg Gorbatenko, an analyst with Loop Capital says the combination of slowing subscriber growth and higher costs to upgrade to newer networks were the two major culprits behind the sector's collapse.

The telecom equipment sector is still a mess as carriers continue to hold back on spending. British networking firm Marconi (MONI: Research, Estimates) was the quarter's worst performer, dropping more than 80 percent, as fears of an imminent bankruptcy have begun to mount. Riverstone Networks (RSTN: Research, Estimates), Acterna (ACTR: Research, Estimates) andCorvis (CORV: Research, Estimates) were other big telecom equipment losers. Each fell at least 60 percent in the quarter.

Top 10 Worst and Best



 

 

 

DOWN Telecoms
Forget imploding dot-coms, grounded airlines and paralyzed PC makers; the telecom free-fall tops them all. Consider: Telecoms have defaulted on more than $20 billion in high-yield debt this year — about half of all such defaults in the country. Big names like Covad and PSINet entered Chapter 11, while some bankruptcies are costing taxpayers billions and the fiber-optics suppliers hit new lows. JDS Uniphase declared the biggest one-year loss in corporate history — $51 billion — while Nortel lost $20 billion in one quarter and embattled Lucent announced more than 40,000 layoffs.

In: Wrapping the Flag around Your Brand
After Sept. 11, scores of companies changed their ad campaigns to incorporate patriotic themes — especially car companies, like the Chevrolet ("Keep America Rolling") and Ford ("Ford Drives America"). Even the New York Stock Exchange pronounced it time to "Let Freedom Ring." Is this simply opportunism or a savvy way to get Americans to spend? Most likely a bit of both.



Out: Putting Your Name on a Stadium
It's getting hard to keep track of the formerly high-flying companies whose names may be coming off ballparks and sports arenas from coast to coast due to financial struggles or buyouts: PSINet (Baltimore Ravens), TWA (St. Louis Rams), CMGI (New England Patriots) and Enron (Houston Astros), among others. And San Francisco's Candlestick Park may not be called "3Com" next season.



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