Because big companies dominated the top performers lists back in 1999 – 2000 their share valuations grew to unsustainably overpriced levels. That’s why the stock prices of many fine companies that have posted significant advances in their fundamentals have seen little to no progress in their share prices since 2000.
Conversely, many of the overlooked small and mid-cap companies at the turn of the millennium were trading at less than typical multiples simply due to being the ‘out of favor’ group. Their stocks, as a group, have been superb performers as noted on this 10-year chart from the Jan. 23, 2011 Wall Street Journal.
While the chart only shows the Mid-Caps versus the S&P 500, the body of the WSJ article noted that the S&P Small-Cap 600 was recently within 3% of its all-time peak set in July 2007.
From 2000 – 2010:
For 2010 only:
Credit Suisse Group notes that the relative outperformance has now pushed the average P/Es of the smaller companies to 17x versus the large caps average of 14x. That may set the stage for a reversal of trend going forward.
Dr. Paul Price www.BeatingBuffett.com www.OptionsProfits.com
Conversely, many of the overlooked small and mid-cap companies at the turn of the millennium were trading at less than typical multiples simply due to being the ‘out of favor’ group. Their stocks, as a group, have been superb performers as noted on this 10-year chart from the Jan. 23, 2011 Wall Street Journal.
While the chart only shows the Mid-Caps versus the S&P 500, the body of the WSJ article noted that the S&P Small-Cap 600 was recently within 3% of its all-time peak set in July 2007.
From 2000 – 2010:
| Index | Cum. Performance (including Div.) | Outperformance |
| S & P 500 | 14.1% | N/A |
| S& P 400 (mid-caps) | 72.0% | 410.6% |
| S & P 600 (small-caps) | 77.2% | 447.5% |
For 2010 only:
| Index | Cum. Performance (including Div.) | Outperformance |
| S & P 500 | 15.% | N/A |
| S& P 400 (mid-caps) | 26% | 73.3% |
| S & P 600 (small-caps) | 27% | 80% |
Credit Suisse Group notes that the relative outperformance has now pushed the average P/Es of the smaller companies to 17x versus the large caps average of 14x. That may set the stage for a reversal of trend going forward.
Dr. Paul Price www.BeatingBuffett.com www.OptionsProfits.com
