3 Dow stocks to sell in August before it crashes and burns

Although we often think about Dow Jones Industrial Average as a representative of the 30 most significant and influential companies in the United States, even its members can falter at times. These struggles can stem from declining consumer spending, gross mismanagement, and even quality control failures that can cause international incidents. These unfortunate circumstances often lead to the formation of Dow stocks for sale.

Thus, the old adage that “the bigger they go, the harder they fall” applies even to legacy stocks like the Dow. For investors, knowing when to exit or avoid positions in these failing stocks can help improve the long-term trajectory of cash holdings, such as retirement portfolios or college funds.

As such, investors should closely monitor the reputation and overall outlook for the next three stocks as they may not be able to deliver the returns once expected from them.

McDonald’s (MCD)

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Times could be tough for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), but that’s because times are even tougher for its customers. In this case, the culprit behind McDonald’s struggle to inspire investor confidence and boost financial values ​​is inflation. However, as part of its response to inflation, McDonald’s has reduced both quality and quantity, with many of its burgers smaller than ever and too little warning to customers.

This means that the company’s core customer demographic that relies on affordable, filling meals is starting to drift away due to rising costs for unsatisfying meals. McDonald’s tried to address this trend in July by introducing its $5 value meal deal, but the temporary nature of the deal means it won’t become a long-term revenue generator.

As such, investors may want to list MCD on their list of Dow stocks to sell until inflation cools and customers adjust to the reality that $20 is no longer enough to buy their family a meal.

Intel (INTC)

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This year, approximately 60% of of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) the value of stocks disappear with disease after disease hitting the news. INTC currently remains one of the Dow stocks to sell based on a critical issue with its 13th and 14th generation CPUs. How Intel handles this instability in its chips could hurt market share for processors in the near term.

In July, Intel announced that it had found the root cause of the blocking problems affecting its processors. The problem was that the processor’s microcode routed electricity through the circuit incorrectly, causing it to overload and crash. The company is rolling out a microcode update to fix the issues by mid-August, potentially ending the crisis that has mired its newest processors in crash bugs since December 2022.

Beyond that, laying off 15,000 employees and decisions to pay its CEO over $16 million in compensation amid such catastrophic failures make INTC worth staying away for a while.

Boeing (BA)

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It’s safe to say that Boeing (NYSE:nay) is among the first Dow stocks to sell this year. With 35% of its value gone since January, the company doesn’t appear to have much of a recovery path ahead, aside from its recent acquisition of its supplier, Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR).

However, that move could be in danger of allaying investor concerns as both are called to testify before the National Transportation Safety Board. If the two companies struggle to answer the federal government’s questions about quality control mistakes, Boeing’s stock could continue to fall.

Finally, the fact that Boeing is just above its first support level around $160 should be of concern to investors heading into the news cycle. That’s because any further bad news could drop well below $160 depending on the government’s decisions.

At the time of publication, Viktor Zarev did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guide.

At the time of publication, the responsible editor had (either directly or indirectly) no position in the securities mentioned in this article.