General Electric Company (GE), Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) & More: These Four Stocks Have Held the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) Back

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International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) , down 0.5%

Tech giant IBM has also seen big swings lately, with a huge plunge after the company’s earnings announcement in mid-April. Big Blue suffered especially hard from weakness in China, which rippled beyond its government contracts to hurt businesses as well. Moreover, even though International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has pioneered the successful business strategy of focusing on high-margin segments rather than low-margin commodity businesses like basic hardware, competitors are finally catching on and giving International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) a run for its money. Still, IBM responded to the price decline by announcing further share buybacks, which should help boost earnings-per-share figures and keep International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) on track for its long-range goal of $20 in EPS by 2015.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), down 0.5%
Rounding out the four losers is JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), whose stock has largely been treading water amid controversy over CEO and Chairman Jamie Dimon. Some institutional investors are calling for Dimon to give up at least part of his current dual role at the big bank, arguing that recent miscues at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) indicate an inability on Dimon’s part to manage the bank’s extensive operations. Yet looking at the stock’s performance since the financial crisis, other investors argue that blaming Dimon despite his success makes little sense. With the annual shareholder meeting approaching, the final resolution of Dimon’s fate should help get the stock out of its holding pattern — one way or the other.

A market of stocks
These four stocks and their laggard performance show that even when stock market benchmarks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) are moving solidly higher, some individual companies inevitably miss out. You can’t expect to avoid every lagging stock, but by noting the warning signs, you can gain experience that could help you steer clear of at least some pitfalls for your portfolio.

The article These 4 Stocks Have Held the Dow Back originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger owns warrants on JPMorgan Chase. You can follow him on Twitter: @DanCaplinger. The Motley Fool owns shares of General Electric, IBM, and JPMorgan Chase.

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