Garmin's Big Troubles Just Get Bigger

Garmin (GRMN Quote) shares have been pointing in only one direction as the economic impact on the consumer and increased competition have hurt the personal navigation device maker.

Those issues, combined with the long-delayed introduction of the company's Nuvifone handset device, should continue to pressure shares over the next few quarters, analysts say.

The Cayman Islands-based digital-navigation gadget maker was a favorite among traders in 2007 when its stock surged 80%, but investors have seen a 75% drop in Garmin's stock this year to $24.35 a share, a new 52-week low. The rapid decline comes as economic conditions have worsened worldwide because of the credit crunch in financial markets.

Garmin's problems began surfacing months ago during its last earnings statement, when CEO Min Kao said that "the sector is not growing as rapidly as earlier anticipated," as a result of a more cost-conscious consumer.

At that time, the company lowered its full-year revenue growth expectations to $3.9 billion and said it expects a profit for the year of $3.86 a share, which excludes a gain from the tender of the Tele Atlas stock. Wall Street is currently expecting Garmin to notch a full-year profit of $3.96 a share on sales of $3.83 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Garmin is set to report third-quarter earnings Oct. 29. In addition to traditional financial metrics, analysts will be looking closely at both the number of units shipped in the third quarter as well as the average selling price as an indication of how Garmin is handling the slowdown in consumer spending. Garmin predicted earlier this year that prices for personal navigation devices, or PNDs, would drop 25% in 2008.