A Tough Year For Many VARBusiness 500 Stocks

Here's a roundup of several notable VARBusiness 500 leaders and how their issues have fared over the last 52 weeks.

EDS
EDS' once-staid stock price has certainly been on a bumpy ride over the last 12 months as a result of several factors--the most troubling being its close relationship with beleaguered telecommunications giant WorldCom. Unlike many other companies that saw immediate fallout from the events of Sept. 11, EDS' stock increased substantially in the months immediately following the attacks, going from about $55 dollars in early September to a high of $72.45 in November, riding on the market's sudden affection for companies that serve government clients. It held steady for the next several months, hovering in the mid-60s through the middle of March and dipping slightly in early April to about $50 a share. But questions in early June over the company's WorldCom exposure as well as rumors about its own accounting irregularities (since proven unfounded) sent issues spiraling down to a low of $27.82. Since that time, the shares have bounced between $30 and $40 a share. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were trading at just over $40 a share, up about 50 cents for the day.

Accenture
Comparing Accenture's stock price today to what it was a year ago doesn't accurately depict the up-and-down ride stockholders saw over the last 52 weeks. The company's stock, which was just over $15 a share in early September 2001, was hit hard in the days after Sept. 11, dropping down to $11.61 a share at the end of September. By October, the stock had mounted a slow but steady comeback that would last all the way through March 2002, when it hit a high point of $30.50 a share and the company announced plans for primary and secondary offerings of stock. The high was short-lived however, as the bad economy and the overall weakness in demand for consulting work sent the stock back down over the next few months. By Tuesday afternoon, it traded at just over $16 a share, down about 22 cents on the day.

KPMG Consulting
Over the last year, KPMG Consulting has seen its stock approach its all-time high, only to fall back down to below pre-Sept. 11 levels as a result of a bad economy. Like Accenture, KPMG Consulting saw its shares immediately impacted by the events of Sept. 11, which brought the issues down from $14 a share in early September to just under $9 a share in the days after the attacks. By early October, the stock began rising, making its way up to a high of $21.49 in early March. But that didn't hold, and the stock dropped once again to just under $9 a share in July. Since then the stock has rebounded somewhat, but still sits below last year's pre-Sept. 11 levels, at about $9.75 a share.

Perot Systems
Perot Systems' stock didn't feel the immediate effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The issues, which were trading at just around $15 a share Sept. 10, actually hit their 52-week high in late December, topping out at $21.11 a share. The stock held steady for the next several months--hovering between $20 and $17 a share--until late May, when officials accused the technology services company of helping energy firms exploit loopholes in electric market systems it helped create. The company, which has denied wrongdoing, saw its stock drop to a 52-week low of $9.50 a share in early July. It has since rebounded somewhat to about $12 a share.

GTSI
Federal government integrator GTSI is one of only a few IT solution providers that saw its stock make big gains over the last year, a direct result of the company's ability to ride the recent wave of government spending. The company's stock, which started September at just around $6 a share, has grown steadily over the last year, ending the 52-week period at $11.28 a share.

Sapient
The last 52 weeks have certainly been tough on technology integration firm Sapient. While the company actually saw its stock increase significantly in the weeks and months after Sept. 11-- from about $5 a share in early September to more than $8.50 a share in late December--the bad economic environment took its toll in 2002. After the turn of the new year, the company's stock, hurt by weak revenue growth, went on a continuous slide, hitting a bottom of 67 cents a share in late July. It has gained somewhat and currently sits at $1.24 a share, but still well below its pre-Sept. 11 position.

Answerthink
Like Sapient, technology consulting firm Answerthink has also seen a big decrease in its stock price over the last 12 months, going from just under $8 a share in early September 2001 all the way down to a low in late July of $1.52. The stock has since risen slightly to $2.18 a share, but it is still way off its pre-Sept. 11 mark.