The 25 Biggest Quarterly Losses In History

Merrill Lynch suffered its greatest loss so far after $16.7 billion in write-downs on subprime assets.

UBS announced $19 billion in write-downs from the subprime crisis, leading to this $11 billion quarterly loss.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

AT&T underwent a major asset write-down after the internet bubble fizzled. C. Michael Armstrong was out by the end of the year.

Mining company Freeport-McMoRan posted the biggest loss in its history as copper prices plunged and due to a the acquisition of Phelps Dodge.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

$7 billion in write-downs contributed to another terrible quarter for GM.

By the time Merrill had the numbers from the crisis quarter, the bank had been taken over by Bank of America.

As AOL continued to slide, Time Warner posted its biggest write-down since the dotcom crash.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. swallowed a $16.9 billion loss as it emerged from three years of bankruptcy.

Watch out next quarter for damage from the oil spill to continue.

Fiber-optics company Nortel took a big fall in the dotcom crash. This $19.4 billion loss included $12.3 billion in write-downs on aquisitions that had lost value.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

This was based on an accounting change that required the company to account for future pensions.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

The sale to Wells Fargo has already happened when Wachovia announced this new record for bank quarterly losses.

The government pledged $150 billion in support to AIG as losses from the subprime crisis surged. They would be even worse next quarter.

One of many dismal losses from subprime mortgages.

Fannie Mae lost more this quarter on subprime asset write-downs than its combined earnings from 2002-2006.

$34 billion in asset write-downs and falling oil prices set up this enormous loss.

It was GM's first and biggest in a string of losses that would lead to the auto bailout.

After the AOL-Time Warner merger at the bubble heights, the corporation suffered two severe asset write-downs. The second and smaller write-down of $45.5 billion led to this $44.7 billion quarterly loss.

And this was Time Warner's worst quarter in a terrible year.

AIG suffered the worst quarter in history, catalyzing a dire financial crisis.

• AIG lost $61.7 billion in Q4 '08
• Time Warner lost $54.2 billion in Q1 '02
• Time Warner lost $44.7 billion in Q4 '02
• GM lost $38.6 billion in Q3 '07
• Conoco Phillips lost $31.8 billion in Q4 '08
• Fannie Mae lost $29.4 billion in Q3 '08
• Fannie Mae lost $25.2 billion in Q4 '08
• AIG lost $24.5 billion in Q3 '08
• Wachovia lost $23.7 billion in Q3 '08
• Fannie Mae lost $23.2 billion in Q1 '09
• GM lost $21 billion in Q1 '92
• Fannie Mae lost $19.8 billion in Q3 '09
• Nortel Networks lost $19.4 billion in Q2 '01
• BP lost $17 billion in Q2 '10
• UAL Corp. lost $16.9 billion in Q4 '05
• Fannie Mae lost $16.3 billion in Q4 '09
• Time Warner lost $16 billion in Q4 '08
• Merrill Lynch lost $15.3 billion in Q4 '08
• GM lost $15.5 billion in Q2 '08
• Fannie Mae lost $14.8 billion in Q2 '09
• Freeport-McMoRan lost $13.9 billion in Q4 '08
• AT&T lost $12.7 billion in Q2 '02
• Fannie Mae lost $11.5 billion in Q1 '10
• UBS lost $11 billion in Q1 '08
• Citigroup lost $9.8 billion in Q4 '07
• Merrill Lynch lost $9.8 billion in Q4 '07
• GM lost $9.6 billion in Q4 '08
• UBS lost $8.9 billion in Q4 '07
• Wachovia lost $8.9 billion in Q2 '08
• Ford lost $8.7 billion in Q2 '08
• Citigroup lost $8.3 billion in Q4 '08
• IMB lost $8 billion in Q2 '93
• Citigroup lost $7.6 billion in Q4 '09
• Symantec lost $6.8 billion in Q4 '08
• Devon Energy lost $6.8 billion in Q4 '08
• News Corp lost $6.4 billion in Q4 '08
• Regions Financial lost $6.2 billion in Q4 '08

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