Virtually no company has been spared the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending all three major U.S. indexes cratering into bear markets from recent all-time highs, so here’s a quick look at a few big-name stocks hit hardest by coronavirus.
The latest meltdown has hammered stocks whether they are directly connected to the coronavirus or not. The virus’ rapid spread has been enough to plunge the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes into bear markets— dropping 20% from their recent record highs in less than a month.
For this list, we compared share prices from the middle of January to mid-March to see how much some of the big names have lost. For companies not directly impacted by the virus, we looked at their losses from when indexes reached their most recent highs in mid-February.
Big-Name Stocks Hit Hardest by Coronavirus
Travel Stocks
It’s no secret that one of the sectors of stocks hit hardest by coronavirus is travel.
The spread of COVID-19 into a global pandemic has halted the travel and tourism sector, and airline and cruise ship companies that have felt the brunt of the recent market decline.
1. Carnival Corp.
Since reaching more than $51 in the middle of January 2020, Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) has seen a massive downfall in share price.
The Carnival ship Diamond Princess started with one case of the coronavirus and rapidly expanded to 700.
That drop has been to the tune of more than 62% into the middle of March.
2. Royal Caribbean Cruises
Another cruise line operator that’s been routed by the coronavirus is Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL).
Royal Caribbean is the second-largest operator in the world after Carnival.
The Miami-based company hit $133 per share back in January but has dropped more than 66% since.
3. Norwegian Cruise Lines
The cruise line stock hit hardest by coronavirus is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH).
Norwegian controls about 9% of the worldwide share of the cruise market and is the third-largest in the world.
Its shares have plummeted more than 74% since the middle of January 2020.
4. American Airlines
Cruise companies are far from the only ones being adversely impacted. Airlines have also faced headwinds as travel fell off after the virus’ spread was first discovered.
One airline getting hit hard is Fort Worth-based American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL).
American Airlines shares bounced a bit in February 2020, but have since fallen nearly 50%.
Other travel companies impacted (from January 2020):
- Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) — Dropped 30.7% since the middle of January.
- United Airlines Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: UAL) — Down 47% since the middle of January.
Cannabis Stocks Hit Hardest by COVID-19
The downfall of cannabis stocks actually started long before the coronavirus outbreak, which has only made things worse.
1. Aurora Cannabis Inc.
The free fall of pot stocks can be best illustrated by Aurora Cannabis Inc. (NYSE: ACB).
At one point in 2019, the Canadian-based cannabis company was trading at nearly $10 per share and was one of the most popular stocks on trading platforms like Robinhood.
However, since January, it has spiraled down by nearly 60% to less than $1 per share.
2. Canopy Growth Corp.
The largest cannabis company by market capitalization showed signs of life in December 2019 with a nice bounce after a rough year.
However, Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) tanked 45% to reach a new 52-week low from January 2020 to March 2022.
Other cannabis companies impacted:
- Cronos Group Inc. (Nasdaq: CRON) — Down 38% since the middle of January.
- Tilray, Inc. (Nasdaq: TLRY) — Down 70% since mid-January.
S&P 500 ETF Stocks Slammed by COVID-19
As the S&P 500 goes, so goes the economy. Investors pour into S&P 500 exchange-traded funds as a way to invest in the index — and all of its 500 companies — without looking at individual stocks.
But those ETFs have taken an absolute pounding as the index officially fell into bear market territory at the closing bell on March 12. (By the way, you can check out our best S&P 500 ETFs to buy — they’re on sale right now at a huge discount if you’re a long-term investor).
1. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
It is one of the lowest-priced and most popular ETFs tracking the S&P 500.
However, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: VOO) has followed the precipitous drop in the index.
Since reaching a high of $309 per share back on Feb. 19, 2020 — when the S&P 500 was at its highest — VOO has tanked nearly 25%.
2. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF
The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV) is another that has followed the fall of the overall market closely.
Like VOO, it reached a high of $339 on Feb. 19 but has dropped 24% into March.
3. SPDR S&P 500 ETF
The most popular S&P 500 ETF is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY).
It has more than $322 trillion in assets under its management and is also the oldest of the S&P 500 benchmark funds.
Similar to VOO and IVV, SPY has dropped more than 23% since the middle of February 2020.
Nasdaq Stocks Slammed by Coronavirus
The Nasdaq Composite was the last of the three major indexes to fall into a bear market.
But that doesn’t mean stocks in the index haven’t suffered huge drops.
1. Nvidia Corp.
Nvidia Corp. (Nasdaq: NVDA) was one of our five artificial intelligence stocks to watch in 2020.
But tech stocks have taken a beating due to the coronavirus.
After hitting a 52-week high of $314 per share back in February 2020, the graphics processing unit manufacturer has fallen 26% since.
2. Amazon.com Inc.
Even retailers are getting hit hard as the coronavirus spread is forcing consumers to keep their money in the bank.
But not even the largest e-commerce company, Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), is immune from this downturn.
After topping out at $2,170 per share in February, shares of Amazon have dropped off by more than 21%.
3. Apple Inc.
With supply and demand issues, Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is taking its fair share of the coronavirus scare.
Its valuation has cratered by more than $100 billion as it expects product delays and sluggish demand for those products.
Normally very resilient, Apple shares have dropped more than 21% since the middle of February.
4. Microsoft Corp.
Due to the virus’ spread, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), a market darling like Apple throughout 2019, said it’s not likely to meet its quarterly sales guidance.
While Microsoft stock hasn’t fallen as much as Apple or Nvidia, it has experienced a major drop into a bear market.
Since February, shares of the company have fallen 22.7%.
Other top Nasdaq companies impacted (from February 2020):
- Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) — Down nearly 26% since Feb. 19, 2020.
- Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) — Off 25% since the middle of February.
- Skyworks Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: SWKS) — Dropped almost 29%.
Dow Stocks Hit Hardest By Coronavirus
The Dow was the first major index to cross over into a bear market after shedding 20% in less than a month. It officially crossed into bear territory on March 11, 2020 — ending an 11-year bull market run, the longest on record.
Nearly all 30 companies listed in the index have experienced declines since February.
1. The Walt Disney Co.
Entertainment titan The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) announced a new CEO in the midst of having to close down parks in Asia thanks to the coronavirus.
The stock suffered a big drop after CEO Bob Iger announced he was leaving the role, but its fall has only worsened since.
Disney was trading relatively flat since December but it has tanked more than 30% since February.
2. Occidental Petroleum Corp.
The sharp decline in oil prices thanks to a new price war waged between Saudi Arabia and Russia has taken its toll on American energy companies.
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) has been one of the hardest hit by the dip.
Shares of the company have nosedived more than 75% since trading flat most of 2020.
3. Boeing Co.
The production halt of its 737 Max airliner was bad enough. But the fortunes for Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) only seem to be getting worse as Boeing faces a trickle-down effect from the travel industry. Airline companies aren’t ordering jets and America’s largest manufacturer of planes is paying for it.
Since February, shares of Boeing have cratered by more than 50%.
Other Dow companies impacted (from February 2020):
- American Express (NYSE: AXP) — Down more than 37%.
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) — Has fallen 36%.
- Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) — Dropped more than 32%.
- ExxonMobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) — Off by more than 36%.
As you can see, no sector or index has been left unscathed by the impacts of the pandemic.
It is going to remain a rough stretch until the virus is curtailed and things start getting back to normal. For now, you can track just how big the impact is with the stocks hit hardest coronavirus.
