The Dow is up 14.3% year to date (YTD), but not all of the Dow Jones stocks have been winners this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is up 3% in the last month alone. That one-month gain is more than any of these stocks have seen all year.
In fact, one of the Dow Jones stocks on this list has actually fallen 18% in 2016. Here are the five worst-performing Dow Jones stocks of 2016...
Worst Dow Jones Stocks No. 5: Visa Inc. (NYSE: V)
The main thing holding Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) back is the industry in which it operates. It is in the business services sector, and that sector has declined by 0.18% YTD.
Visa's quarterly performance has shown declining momentum. In Q3, Visa posted a decline of 4.42% from the previous quarter and a month-over-month decline of 4.73%. That's one reason it's one of the worst DJIA stocks of 2016.
The next earnings report for Visa is due the last week of January. Visa stock has fallen after 15 of the last 27 earnings reports. Another drop in earnings should send the stock even lower.
Visa stock is currently up a mere 1% YTD and trading at $78.34 a share.
Worst Dow Jones Stocks No. 4: Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)
Another poorly performing Dow Jones stock is Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE).
According to ADVFN, Pfizer has had declining revenue for five straight years. The growth estimate for the fourth quarter of 2016 is a decline of 5.7%. Next quarter's growth is expected to be 0%.
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Stagnant revenue isn't the only reason Pfizer is one of the worst-performing Dow stocks of 2016. This past Wednesday, British regulators fined Pfizer almost $113 million for drastically increasing the cost of an epilepsy drug. The fine is the largest in British regulators' history, and it came after Pfizer increased the drug price by 2,600%.
Pfizer stock is up 0.75% YTD and is currently trading at $32.52 a share.
Worst Dow Jones Stocks No. 3: Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS)
Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) stock has been doing poorly because of one underperforming business segment.
One of its cash cows is ESPN. Unless it is reinvented, the cable giant can spell trouble for Disney. ESPN has been losing subscribers, and October was especially bad, with the network losing more than 600,000 subscribers that month alone.
Another reason Disney is one of the worst-performing Dow Jones stocks is a third-quarter revenue drop of 2.7% from the third quarter of 2015.
While Disney stock is down this year, we remain bullish on DIS. Its studio segment revenue increased by 22% in quarter two of 2016, with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and "Zootopia" being huge box-office successes.
The purchase of the Star Wars franchise is expected to increase revenue as Star Wars park expansions are completed. Disney Parks also opened a resort in Shanghai in June.
Currently, Disney stock is down 1% YTD and is trading at $104.00 a share. For Money Morning's full stance on Disney, check out our recent stock review.
Worst Dow Jones Stocks No. 2: The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO)
The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) is facing intense scrutiny not because of its practices, but because its soda products are being linked to obesity.
Soda taxes were recently passed in San Francisco and Chicago, while Mexico has a nationwide tax on soda. This tax trend is expected to continue in the United States and abroad.
The taxes may not be directly causing a decline in soda consumption, but the net effect is that soft drink sales were at a 30-year low in 2015. Unlike Pepsi, Coca-Cola does not have a diversified portfolio of products to absorb the decline in soda consumption.
The main reason Coca-Cola is one of the worst Dow stocks is because it is expected to have a non-GAAP net income decrease of 11% between 2013 and 2016. Overall it looks like Coca-Cola's best days may be in the past.
Coca-Cola stock is down 2.5% YTD and is currently trading at $41.73 a share.
And the worst-performing Dow Jones stock of 2016 is...
Worst Dow Jones Stocks No. 1: Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE)
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Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) is the powerhouse in sports apparel, but that may be changing. Growth has been a problem for Nike and is a contributing reason why Nike is the worst-performing Dow Jones stock of 2016.
Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA) has been increasing its revenue by more than 20% for the last three years, and Nike is feeling the pressure. Nike's expected growth estimates for the current quarter are expected to be down by more than 4%.
In October 2015, Nike released an aggressive growth plan to increase sales by more than 60% between fiscal-year 2015 and fiscal-year 2020. With increased competition, those growth plans are going to be hard to hit.
Even with increasing revenue of 8% year over year, sustained growth will be difficult. Nike's margins are decreasing with increased marketing, inventory issues (too much inventory, not enough demand), and investments in technology.
Currently, Nike is down 18% YTD and trading at $51.42 a share.
The good news about all this bad news is that there is a great way to profit...
The Bottom Line: Even among the top 30 companies on the market, there are winners and losers. Size is not a tell-all of profitability, and a long position is not the only way to make money on Dow Jones stocks. Short selling stocks is a great way to profit from losers on the market today.
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