5/16/2000

Among The Globe 100's biggest bears for 1999 was Raytheon, the Lexington-based defense contractor, whose Class B shares were worth $17.75 on March 31, down from $58.63 a year earlier.

A slowdown in overseas orders and problems integrating missile and electronics units cast a cloud over the start of CEO Daniel Burnham's tenure at Raytheon. (Globe Staff Photo / John Bohn) The Bulls 1. NetOptix 2. Natural Microsystems Corp. 3. Interleaf Inc. 4. Cubist Pharmaceuticals 5. Seachange International [ See complete chart ] The Bears 1. J. Jill Group 2. Raytheon Co. 3. Mac-Gray Corp. 4. Lifeline Systems Inc. 5. RoweCom Inc. [ See complete chart ]

A big hit came on a single day, Oct. 12, when shares fell $18.75 after the company lowered its profit goals.

Raytheon looked ready to soar in mid-1999, with an order boom driven by the air war against Serbia and a new chief executive, Daniel Burnham, who came in with a reformist agenda.

But shares fell as Burnham disclosed a slowdown in overseas orders and problems integrating the various missile and electronics companies that Raytheon had purchased after a round of defense-industry consolidation in the mid-1990s.

Once, Raytheon could charge premium prices for its sales to foreign governments. But those prices prompted other nations to bulk up their own defense industries; as of early May, Raytheon was lobbying hard to win a major missile sale to the British government, competing against a new European consortium.

Burnham has pledged to revive the company's stock with a management shuffle and more quality-control programs. He also hopes contracting reforms at the Pentagon will help Raytheon keep more of the money it saves.

Shares have risen back slightly, but some investors think the fate of defense companies will be hard to predict until after the presidential elections this fall.

ROSS KERBER