BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MARCH 27, 2000 ISSUE
COVER STORY How to Pan for Gold Bargain hunters need to dig deep to discover why their stocks are off. Some are beaten down for a reason FAST GROWTH Ten of the BW 50 companies earned ''A'' grades in both sales and profit growth. But to figure out if they're trending up or down, look at whether one-year growth is outpacing three-year growth. Only four of the 10 passed that test. UNLOVED BARGAINS To sift for value plays, check for the best performers in out-of-favor industries, since that's where you'll find the lowest price-earnings ratios. Look for companies that are outperforming their peers with margins that are holding steady or growing. RED FLAGS When companies way outperform their peers, it can be a sign of superior management--or a warning to look for special items that goosed results. To make sure the upswing is real, look for rising profit margins. Then, compare price-earnings ratios against others in the industry to see how big a premium you'll be paying. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS The 50 Best Performers COVER IMAGE: The BW 50: The Best Performers TABLE: The 50 Best Performers TABLE: Total Return TABLE: Sales TABLE: Net Margin TABLE: Earnings Decline TABLE: Earnings Growth CHART: The Fast-Changing BW 50: A Breakdown by Industry TABLE: Return on Equity Follow the Leaders CHART: Beating the Indexes--Again Great Performances, and How to Spot Them Sifting for Clues TABLE: How to Pan for Gold TABLE: Business Week's Performance Rankings of the S&P 500 (.pdf) TABLE: Business Week's Industry Rankings of the S&P 500 (.pdf) TABLE: Alphabetical Index (.pdf) ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with Biogen's Jim Vincent ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with AOL's Steve Case ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with General Dynamics' Nicholas Chabraja ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with MBNA's Charles Cawley ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with Pfizer's William Steere ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with Kansas City Southern's Landon Rowland ONLINE ORIGINAL: Q&A with Omnicom Group's John Wren INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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