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1995 Wrap Up
What a phenomenal year for stocks! It’s been 20 years since overall equity markets posted a 30% increase in one year. Even the bond market was up about 20% (appreciation and income). With a 34.53% increase for the year, the BG Index just edged out the Standard & Poors 500 (S&P 500) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) with their respective gains of 34.11% and 33.45%. For the last two years, however, the BG Index provided a stellar gain of 74.67% compared with respective increases of 32.05% and 36.31% for the S&P 500 and DJIA.
Increase and Fluctuations
The summary above indicates the 1995 open, close, high and low prices for each BG Index stock, along with percentage increases. Although the index’s overall performance was in line with market averages, most index stocks were above or below average increases. Most stocks reached yearly performance highs in August or September, with lows typically occurring in November or December.
The accompanying table and graph show the index was operating on all cylinders until late summer/early fall. A couple companies that backed down significantly from their highs were Landmark Graphics, MapInfo Corp. and Trimble Navigation Ltd., all with declines from 30% to 50% from their beginning year prices. The same percentage increases and declines actually have much different impacts, because a stock that declines 50%, for example, must gain 100% to make up the decline.
Stocks that continued to increase through most of the year included Intergraph Corp., 1995’s top performer, along with American Business Information, CACI International, Equifax, Inc. and Primark.
Stock News
San Raphael, Calif.-based Autodesk, Inc.’s board approved a buy-back program of an additional 4 million common shares, which will help offset dilution to earnings per share caused by stock issuance from employee stock plans. Autodesk also adopted a "fair treatment" program in the event of a company takeover, which will increase the share of nonacquiring shareholders with a new participating preferred stock, with rights expiring in 2005.
CACI International, Arlington, Va., completed its acquisition of IMS Technologies, Inc., Rockville, Md., a firm with annual revenues of $21 million (see "BG News," pg. 14).
MapInfo, Troy, N.Y., again announced disappointing earnings for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 1995, which will be near break even compared with earnings of $0.15 a year earlier. The news sent MapInfo’s stock to an all-time low of less than $14 in early January 1996.
Trimble, Sunnyvale, Calf., was named the exclusive provider of global positioning system receivers for Delco Electronics Corp., Kokomo, Ind., a division of Hughes Electronics. The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to aggressively pursue the consumer car navigation market, which is expected to grow to $3 billion by 2000.
Associated Chart being Prepared and Available Soon.
Business Geographics, March, 1996; pp 50.
(This article was reproduced with permission from GIS WORLD Inc., and Business Geographics.)