By Margot Patrick
Stellantis is taking a $26 billion hit due to heavy investment in electric vehicles, not long after Ford took a similar, $19.5 billion charge. Here are some other notable writedowns from recent decades.
Worldcom: The collapsed telecom provider in early 2003 said it would take $79.8 billion of writedowns, months after filing for bankruptcy, as part of a restatement of earlier earnings.
AOL Time Warner: The disastrous media merger prompted a $54 billion charge in the first quarter of 2002 and a $45.5 billion charge in the fourth quarter that year, writing down the value of both of the merged businesses.
JDS Uniphase: In yet another boom-time folly, the fiber-optics equipment maker took a $38.7 billion charge in early 2001 after overspending on deals, notably buying rival SDL.
General Motors: The Detroit automaker took a $39 billion writedown in 2007, after it became clear that it wouldn't earn the profit needed to apply tax credits from earlier losses. A government bailout later followed.
ConocoPhillips: In its late 2008 results, the oil company took a $34 billion impairment against the earlier purchase of natural-gas producer Burlington Resources and its stake in Russia's Lukoil.
General Electric: A bet on coal and gas-fired power just as renewables took off went badly wrong for the industrial conglomerate. It took a $22 billion charge in 2018 tied to the purchase of Alstom's power business.
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February 06, 2026 09:04 ET (14:04 GMT)
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