Why Five Profitable Stocks Are Down About 50%
These five stocks fell for five different reasons, which is why one "buy the dip" rule fits none of them. Oracle is a financing story, AppLovin a trust and slowing-growth story, Boston Scientific a competition story, Intuit an AI-disruption fear and Fiserv an execution reset.
- On this site's weekly data they sit an average of 57% below their 52-week highs, yet all five report a profit and the prices now imply anything from shrinking cash flow (Intuit) to growth above 33% a year (Oracle).
- The useful question is which problem is already in the price and which is not.
This is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Which profitable stocks have fallen about half?
The average distance of these five stocks from their 52-week highs, in this site's weekly data of October 23 to 24, 2026. All five earn a profit: net margins run from 13% to 65%.
| Stock | From high | 1-year | Main problem | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle (ORCL) | -55% | -54% | Debt-funded AI build-out tied to OpenAI | Financing |
| AppLovin (APP) | -65% | -54% | Short-seller reports, a revenue miss, a class action | Trust and growth |
| Boston Scientific (BSX) | -56% | -56% | Guidance cut twice on Watchman and ablation share loss | Competition |
| Intuit (INTU) | -50% | -49% | Fear that AI agents replace TurboTax and QuickBooks | AI disruption |
| Fiserv (FISV) | -61% | -60% | Two big guidance cuts and a new CEO | Execution reset |
How far each stock is below its 52-week high, from this site's weekly data.
What happened to each one?
Oracle: why is a profitable AI winner falling?
- Debt: Bloomberg, via Yahoo Finance, reports long-term debt has nearly doubled to more than $160 billion in two years, and another report puts total debt near $167 billion.
- Spending: fiscal 2027 capital spending is guided to $90 billion to $95 billion, against $55.7 billion in fiscal 2026, and S&P expects a free cash flow deficit near $42 billion this fiscal year.
- Customer risk: a reported $300 billion OpenAI contract starts paying in 2027, and OpenAI's revenue was reported about $20 billion short of earlier investor estimates. S&P cut Oracle to BBB-, one notch above junk.
AppLovin: why did the ad-tech leader drop 61% this year?
- Trust: short-seller reports in January and later, which the company called false, plus a securities class action covering February 12 to August 5, 2026.
- Growth: Q2 revenue of $1.92 billion rose 52.8% but missed estimates, and the CEO said model improvements were lighter than normal. Analysts flagged a cooling in new e-commerce advertisers.
- Status: the company said the SEC concluded its inquiry with no recommended action. Analysts still mostly rate it Buy (27 of 33 in one tally).
Boston Scientific: why did a medical-device leader get cut twice?
- Guidance: 2026 sales growth guidance went from 10.5% to 11.5% in February, to 7% to 8.5% in April, to 5.5% to 6.5% on July 29; adjusted EPS guidance fell from $3.43 to $3.49 to $3.28 to $3.32.
- Watchman: Q2 sales rose only 4.3% to $507 million and are expected to fall in the second half, with no Watchman growth assumed for 2027.
- Competition: in ablation, the CEO said the company undercalled competitive pressure and its share has come down. A restructuring with $700 million to $800 million of charges aims for about $500 million of savings.
Intuit: is AI really about to replace TurboTax?
- Guidance: fiscal 2027 revenue growth is guided to 9% to 10%, down from 14%, with TurboTax unit growth of 2% to 3%.
- Fear: Goldman Sachs, as cited by SPXScore, estimated an AI system could process a standard return for about $0.12 against about $162 for TurboTax. Bank of America and JPMorgan cut ratings after the report.
- Response: Intuit cut about 17% of its workforce (about 3,000 jobs) in June and partnered with Anthropic in February, and calls fiscal 2027 an investment year.
Fiserv: what went wrong at the payments company?
- The first shock: in October 2025 the stock had its biggest one-day fall, nearly 41%, after a Q3 miss and a deep cut to its growth outlook.
- The second shock: Q2 2026 revenue fell 5% organically to $4.96 billion, adjusted EPS of $1.84 missed by $0.07, and 2026 guidance now has organic growth of -1% to flat with adjusted EPS of $7.20 to $7.40.
- The reset: new CEO Takis Georgakopoulos has put Clover at the centre of a technology plan, and management called Q2 the low point of the year.
What is each stock priced for now?
| Stock | Trailing / forward P/E | Free cash flow yield | Growth the price implies | Wall Street view |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORCL | 20.0 / 16.5 | 2.2% | +33.1% | Buy, 4.10 of 5 |
| APP | 19.7 / 17.3 | 5.2% | +11.0% | Buy, 4.05 of 5 |
| BSX | 18.0 / 14.1 | 5.5% | +9.6% | Buy, 4.05 of 5 |
| INTU | 20.4 / 12.2 | 9.2% | -3.1% | Buy, 3.73 of 5 |
| FISV | 9.4 / 5.9 | 14.9% | n/a | Hold, 3.36 of 5 |
The implied-growth column is this site's reverse DCF: the yearly change in free cash flow needed to justify today's price. Intuit's price implies cash flow shrinking about 3% a year, so the market has already priced in a lot of AI damage, while Oracle's implies growth above 33% a year because heavy spending has pushed its free cash flow down. Fiserv's figure is n/a because payment processors are treated as financial services in the DCF. What growth does a share price imply? shows how to read this.
Which of the five falls could reverse?
| Stock | What would help | What would hurt |
|---|---|---|
| Oracle | OpenAI starting to pay in 2027, cheaper financing, capital spending peaking | More debt, a further rating cut, OpenAI missing its commitments |
| AppLovin | A return to model-driven growth and clean legal outcomes | More short reports, slower e-commerce adoption, a bad class action result |
| Boston Scientific | Watchman stabilising and ablation share holding | Another cut, 2027 EPS growth staying modest |
| Intuit | TurboTax unit growth holding at 2% to 3% and QuickBooks adds recovering | AI tax products taking filers, a further cut to fiscal 2027 |
| Fiserv | Second-half growth near 2% and Q4 up mid-single digits as guided | Another miss after two cuts, more delayed contracts |
If you want to compare them on the same checks, the screener shows the filters, margin of safety and dividend data for all 503 stocks this site tracks, and how to check if a stock is a value trap explains why a 50% fall alone proves nothing.
Sources
- Yahoo Finance: Oracle stock falls on more debt to fund AI chip buying (October 8, 2026): Oracle debt, capex, OpenAI
- Startup Fortune: S&P's downgrade leaves Oracle financing OpenAI's bet (October 14, 2026): rating, free cash flow deficit, contract
- 24/7 Wall St.: AppLovin has dropped 60% in 2026 (October 26, 2026): AppLovin results, ratings
- Tikr: AppLovin stock is down 54% in 2026 and facing a class action: class action, SEC inquiry
- MedTech Dive: Boston Scientific again cuts 2026 guidance (July 29, 2026): guidance cuts, Watchman, restructuring
- 24/7 Wall St.: Intuit sinks 12% as AI disruption fears spread (August 26, 2026): fiscal 2027 guidance, analyst actions
- SPXScore: Intuit's valuation and the AI selloff (August 17, 2026): layoffs, Goldman estimate, multiples
- PYMNTS: Fiserv's new CEO resets guidance (August 6, 2026): Fiserv Q2 and strategy
- Investing.com: Fiserv stock tumbles after cutting 2026 guidance (August 6, 2026): Fiserv results
Each stock's price, ratios, implied growth and ratings come from this site's weekly data of October 23 to 24, 2026, and its stock page. Company figures come from the press and filings summaries above, several of which were read through summaries or secondary sites; where sources disagreed (Oracle's debt at $160 billion versus $167 billion, AppLovin's peak at $738 versus $746) the post says so or uses the lower-risk wording. The CNBC and MDDI articles were not accessible. Boston Scientific's 2026 guidance figures are from MedTech Dive; other outlets quoted different ranges. This is educational content, not investment advice.
Oracle's share repurchases are covered in What 15 years of stock buybacks really did
Stocks down 50% FAQ
Which profitable stocks are down about 50%?
On this site's weekly data, Oracle, AppLovin, Boston Scientific, Intuit and Fiserv are all about 50% to 65% below their 52-week highs while still reporting a profit.
Is a stock that fell 50% automatically cheap?
No. A fall only changes the price, not the business. These five fell for different reasons (debt, trust, competition, AI fear and execution), and each price now assumes something different about the future.
Why did Oracle fall so far?
Heavy borrowing to fund AI data centres, tied largely to one customer (OpenAI), pushed debt past $160 billion and led S&P to cut the rating to BBB-, one notch above junk.
Why did Intuit fall about 50%?
Investors fear AI agents will do tax and bookkeeping work for far less than TurboTax and QuickBooks charge, and fiscal 2027 revenue growth is guided to 9% to 10% against 14% last year.
How can I tell whether a fallen stock is a value trap?
Check whether the cash flow is shrinking, whether debt is rising, and what growth the price implies. This site's value-trap check and reverse DCF do exactly that for every tracked stock.