The ASX All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) Index is full of many quality stocks. But it is also home to many All Ords shares that might not necessarily prove to be good investments in the current market environment going into 2025.
Regardless of this week's negative market moves, the All Ordinaries is still fairly close to the all-time high we saw minted earlier this month.
As such, there are a few All Ords shares on the market that still remain buys in my eyes. But there are many, even popular ones, that I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot barge pole, whether that be for pure valuation reasons or quality concerns.
Here are two of the All Ords that I think would prove to be a poor investment if bought at current pricing.
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Two ASX All Ords shares I'd avoid at all costs right now
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA)
First up is the ASX's largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia. CBA is a company we'd all be familiar with. It's also one of the most popular stocks on the ASX and a staple in many investors' portfolios.
Now, CBA is unquestionably a great company. It is, by far, the leading bank in Australia, with dominant positions across various financial products and services. Many readers probably have a mortgage, or at least a bank account, set up with CBA.
However, this quality comes with a very hefty price tag right now. CBA shares have rocketed in 2024, climbing almost 40% and hitting dozens of new all-time highs along the way.
As we've discussed before, these gains seem completely disconnected from CBA's business fundamentals, with the bank reporting negative growth in both revenue and earnings over the 2024 financial year.
With this in mind, it's hard to justify CBA's current valuation, which is at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27.77. That's higher than Google-owner Alphabet, which tells you all you need to know.
In my eyes, CBA is a ludicrously expensive All Ords share right now, demonstrated by its pitiful (by bank standards anyway) dividend yield of 2.95%. As such, I wouldn't touch this stock with a barge pole.
WAM Capital Ltd (ASX: WAM)
Next, we have listed investment company (LIC) WAM Capital. WAM Capital is a popular ASX All Ords share with retirees and other income investors, thanks to its history of paying large, fully franked dividends.
However, this is another company I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Its share price has woefully underperformed the All Ordinaries Index in recent years, with WAM Capital shares down more than 30% since late 2019:
Many All Ords share investors might not mind this underperformance, given the size of WAM Capital's dividend. However, the company's August earnings warned that its current dividend payments might not be sustainable unless its underlying portfolio is able to maintain a return of 16% per annum going forward.
That includes the hefty 1% annual management fee this LIC charges too.
Given this All Ords share's relatively poor track record in recent years, together with its shaky-looking dividend, I find it hard to tell investors to even get near it.
