One Up On Wall Street: How To Use What You Already Know To Make Money In

by Peter Lynch

For example, in 1980 Lockheed earned $8.04 per share from its defense business, but it lost $6.54 per share in its commercial aviation division because of its L-1011 TriStar passenger jet. The L-1011 was a great airplane, but it suffered from competition with McDonnell Douglas’s DC10 in a relatively small market. And in the long-distance market, it was getting killed by the 747. These losses were persistent, and in December, 1981, the company announced that it would phase out the L-1011. This resulted in a large write-off in 1981 ($26 per share), but it was a one-time loss. In 1982, when Lockheed earned $10.78 per share from defense, there were no more losses to deal with. Earnings had gone from $1.50 to $10.78 per share in two years! You could have bought Lockheed for $15 at the time of the L-1011 announcement. Within four years it hit $60, for a fourbagger.