Make-or-Break
Products of 2009

Apple: Super iPhone

Company Stock Quote: AAPL

Apple's sales and profits were $32.5 billion and $4.8 billion in the last 12 months. But its stock is down 52% from its December 2007 high. So it needs an exciting new product to boost sales. The Super iPhone -- rumored to have perhaps a 5" to 8" 4:3 screen with dimples on the screen itself so users can feel the buttons -- could help that. With concerns about Steve Jobs' health persisting, Apple needs to keep blockbuster products flowing.
Next: Boeing

Boeing: 787 Dreamliner

Company Stock Quote: BA
Boeing's sales and profits were $65.7 billion and $3.8 billion in the last 12 months during which time its stock has fallen 48%. In Sept. 2007, its stock peaked at $105 on hopes for its 787 Dreamliner -- a fuel-efficient mid-sized aircraft. But as delivery dates have slipped, so has its stock. Nevertheless, the 787 has received about 900 orders and now that it has settled a two-month machinists' strike, it should be able to get things back on schedule and minimize the number of canceled or deferred orders.
Next: Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola: Stevia Juices

Company Stock Quote: KO
Coca-Cola's sales and profits were $32.1 billion and $6 billion in the last 12 months. But its stock is down 25.6% in the last year. So it could use a big selling product to boost sales. Stevia-flavored juices -- based on a South American plant extract that is supposedly sweet but lower in calories -- could boost sales. If people who try its product in clubs and youth events in New York and Chicago in 2009 like its Sprite Green, with lemon juice and Truvia (Coke's Stevia brand), Coke stock could rise.
Next: Dell

Dell: The Inspiron Mini 9

Company Stock Quote: DELL

Dell's sales and profits were $63.7 billion and $2.8 billion in the past 12 months during which time its stock has fallen 47%. So it needs at least one -- if not many exciting new products -- to boost sales. The Inspiron Mini 9 mini-notebook-- Dell's entry into the rapidly growing netbook category of handheld computers with 9" or 10" displays priced between $350 and $700 -- could help that.
Next: General Motors

General Motors: Chevy Volt

Company Stock Quote: GM

GM's sales were $165 billion in the last year during which it lost $22.8 billion and it has slim prospects for making a profit any time soon. And its stock is down 85% in the last year. Unfortunately, one product will not save GM -- but its Chevy Volt -- a $30,000 electric-gasoline hybrid with a 150,000 mile expected life -- would be good for its image if GM could get it to market. Let's hope GM can stay out of bankruptcy long enough to do it.
Next: Kellogg

Kellogg: Brain-Health Bars

Company Stock Quote: K

Kellogg's sales and profits were $12.7 billion and $1.1 billion in the last 12 months and its stock is down a relatively small 12.5% in the last year. But it could use a burst in sales which have been up a relatively modest 7.2% per year in the last five years. Its Live Bright brain-health bars -- which contain DHA Omega–3 a nutrient that Kellogg claims is vital to sustain brain health -- could help that. Who wouldn't want to get smarter while eating -- if only it could help you lose weight too!
Next: McDonald's

McDonald's: McCafe

Company Stock Quote: MCD

McDonald's sales and profits were $23.7 billion and $4.6 billion in the last 12 months and its stock is actually up 11% in the last year. To sustain that stock price, McDonald's needs to grow and if it can finish the roll out of its McCafe -- a Starbucks knock-off -- that would help. McCafe is expected to be rolled out in the U.S. by mid-2009. If McDonald's succeeds, its stock price could keep going up.
Next: Microsoft

Microsoft: Windows 7

Company Stock Quote: MSFT
Microsoft's sales and profits were $61.7 billion and $17.8 billion in the last 12 months -- but its stock is down 40% during that time. Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, which received poor reviews when it came out two years ago, could help that, especially since Microsoft just released a test version to consumers. But in a slumping economy, Windows 7 will have to be an awful lot better than Windows XP to get enough people to switch to the new system.
Next: Palm

Palm: The Pre

Company Stock Quote: PALM
Palm's sales and net loss were $1.2 billion and $651 million in the last 12 months and its stock is down 40% during that time. Palm desperately needs a new product to revive its business and its stock price. The Pre -- a rival smart phone that will be sold through SprintNextel Corp -- should hit the market by June 2009. Palm shares rose 35% -- the most since 2004 -- on enthusiasm for the product. If Palm's sales follow the surge in its stock price, it may be able to survive even longer.
Next: Procter & Gamble

P&G: Tide Total Care

Company Stock Quote: PG
P&G's sales and profits were $85.3 billion and $12.2 billion in the last 12 months and its stock is down a relatively modest 14% during that time. One of its new products Tide Total Care -- which it claims helps keep your clothes "like new" even after 30 washes -- could be a hit. P&G usually finds out what consumers want and then develops a new product to meet those needs leading to rapid growth. I'm not sure whether Tide Total Care sales will be enough to move the stock up, but it's worth watching.
Next: The Ritz-Carlton

Ritz-Carlton: The Reserve

Ritz-Carlton LLC is privately held and operates 62 hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. In 2008 it introduced a new brand -- The Reserve -- with the debut of Molasses Reef, a 125-room boutique hotel on West Caicos, in The Turks and Caicos Islands. The Reserve concept is different from a traditional posh but stiff Ritz style -- instead The Reserve features unique destinations with highly personalized service. In a down economy, there's a chance that The Reserve could be a big investment that does not pay off.
Next: Starbucks

Starbucks: Fairtrade Espresso

Company Stock Quote: SBUX
Starbucks sales and profits were $10.4 billion and $316 million in the last 12 months and its stock is down 44% during that time. Starbucks needs a major makeover which may be beyond the skills of its existing management. Nevertheless, it is trying something new -- Fairtrade-certified espresso -- which will buy 40 million pounds (volume) of beans from small-scale coffee farmers and sell the products in the UK and Ireland. It's not clear whether it will yield enough the sales to perk up its stock.
Next: Toyota Motors

Toyota: Venza

Company Stock Quote: TM
Toyota's sales and profits were $269.5 billion and $13.4 billion in the last 12 months but its stock is down 36% during that time. Like the rest of the auto industry, Toyota is suffering from declining demand and excess productive capacity. So it needs an exciting new product to boost sales. The Venza is a more stylish version of an SUV -- it appeals to people who want a vehicle that is big and safe-seeming yet attractive. Will the Venza be enough to boost Toyota stock? I doubt it.
More on AOL: Cheap Stocks for 2009

Wal-Mart: Marketside

Company Stock Quote: WMT
Wal-Mart's sales and profits were $404 billion and $13.6 billion in the last 12 months and its stock is up 20% during that time. However, Britain's Tesco introduced small grocery stores in the U.S. which took market share from Wal-Mart's larger ones. So Wal-Mart responded by opening Marketside -- new, small-format grocery stores. Marketside features fresh meat, produce and prepared foods -- similar to Tesco. We'll see whether it works.
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Next: Apple

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Cheap Stocks for 2009

Now that you've seen products that may make or break companies this year, check out 10 cheaps stocks you may want to snatch up in 2009.

Next Gallery: Cheap Stocks 2009