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Giant #1: Sprint Nextel (S)

There was truly no place to hide when the credit crisis turned a relatively normal end to the business cycle into a trip into the abyss. At the eye of the storm were companies that sold products to the consumer sector. Some of these stocks lost 80% of market value or more.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) was caught in the tsunami. Its shares fell from the mid-$20 range to the bargain-basement low price of $1.35. At that level, the market was clearly suggesting that S may not survive.

Shares trade for just a fraction of sales and book value, and though the company is expected to lose money in 2009, those losses should not be debilitating. This is one wounded giant, but not one that is likely to fail.

The company did suspend dividend payments to preserve cash in 2008, so investors don’t get paid to wait here. Instead, survival is likely to mean that shares double or triple in value from these prices. That is a rational risk, in my opinion.

Next: General Electric (GE)