St. Louis-based Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) closed Friday at $1.87 a share, down from a high of $84 per share in mid-2008. The company's chief financial officer Michael C. Crews resigned abruptly on June 28 amidst the freefall.
Another major U.S. coal company, Alpha Natural Resources (NYSE: ANR) hit a new all-time low Thursday at just 27 cents per share, and sank as low as 24 cents that morning.
Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI) also hit its all-time low of 33 cents per share as well, down from its all-time high of $73.42 in 2008.
All three companies' stock values are down roughly 80% from the beginning of 2015.
Arch has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange for falling below $1 per share, and has only a few months to regain its footing or lose its spot on the NYSE. Alpha received its own delisting notice a month prior.
Given the global nature of the coal industry and the generally complicated world of commodity trading, there are a myriad of influences at play here. But one cannot ignore the fact that these historic lows are coming at a time of historic commitments to renewable energy and carbon reductions by major coal-consuming and producing countries like the United States and China.
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The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis's (IEEFA) director of finance, Tom Sanzillo, recently told reporters that, “the coal industry is arguably the poorest-performing sector in today's global economy and is in a state of structural decline. It is a shrinking industry with little upside potential.”
That's bad news for coal investors, but frankly it's a welcome development for anyone concerned about the carbon pollution the coal industry is responsible for.
Read more at A Bad Week for Coal Mining Industry, Even Worse for Peabody Energy
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