7 Obama- era winners aren’t doing so hot now

Some of the best stocks in the S& P 500 cooling off with Trump

Investors did well by President Obama as stocks more than doubled during his eight- year tenure. But some of the biggest stock champs under Obama’s run are sputtering after Donald Trump’s election.

Seven of the 10 best stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 during Obama’s presidential term, including online retailer Amazon. com, alcoholic beverage seller Constellation and real estate investment trust General Growth, are lagging the market or are even down since the victory of President- elect Trump on Nov. 8, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from S& P Global Market Intelligence. All of these stocks had risen 1,000% or more since Obama’s November 2008 election but trail the 3% rise in the S& P 500 since the Trump win.

The reversal of fortunes of some top winning stocks, along with the rapid decline in bond prices, show how investors are expecting government policy to be dramatically different under Trump.

“The Jan. 20 inauguration of

Donald Trump as the 45th U. S. president could usher in a sea change for government policy in 2017,” according to a note to clients from S& P Global Ratings.

Constellation Brands best captures the gravity of change facing companies suddenly not as well positioned given Trump’s stances, especially on the rise of protectionism. Constellation, a top maker of wine and beer including brands such as Robert Mondavi and Black Velvet, saw its shares soar more than 1,000% since Obama’s election. The company didn’t directly benefit from actions of Obama but enjoyed gains from globalization and the rise in popularity of premium and imported alcoholic beverages including beer, says Timothy Ramey, analyst at research firm Pivotal Research Group.

Constellation bought U. S. distribution rights to Corona and other Mexican brews in June 2013. Mexican beers account for 90% of Constellation’s beer business, which is more than half the company’s revenue, Ramey says.

But now, investors are fearing Trump’s tough talk against global trade, especially with Mexico, as being a big negative. Shares of Constellation are down nearly 11% since Trump was elected.

“We’re worried about tariffs and deporting Hispanics,” Ramey says. “A big chunk of ( Constellation’s) business is selling beer imported from Mexico.”

Several consumer- focused tech companies that were giant winners during Obama’s time in office are also reversing course. Shares of Amazon, discount online seller Priceline and video streamer Netflix saw 1,000% or more gains under Obama and are down 3.6%, 5% and 4.2%, respectively, since Trump’s election.

Tech investors are fearful Trump’s plans could be less advantageous to the growth of technology in the U. S. and refocus efforts on industrial businesses.

The tech- focused Nasdaq 100 index, which contains the 100 largest non- financial Nasdaq stocks, is off 0.6% since Trump’s election. That trails the 4.8% gain by the industrial- focused Dow Jones industrial average. During Obama, the Nasdaq 100 jumped 264%; the Dow rose 111%.

“His tough talk on larger, unregulated companies ( and) industries has many spooked that he’ll do something negative, or that he’ll be friendlier to competition,” says Daniel Kurnos, analyst at Benchmark Capital.

But while investors are nervous, the fear could be overdone. “What is he ( Trump) going to do? Amazon isn’t leaving the U. S., and they’re winning the retail battle fair and square. I don’t see him having any leverage.”