FWIW:
MORNING REPORT
Expedia: Take Off?
By Tom Taulli
Senior Analyst
November 30, 1999 - On November 10, 1998, Microsoft had its first-ever spin-off. Of course, the newly minted IPO was Expedia (EXPE) , the online travel site.
Like any hot Net IPO, the stock soared on its first day, gaining $39.44 to $53.44, giving the company a $2 billion market capitalization.
The stock eventually reached a high of $65-7/8. However, Expedia is now trading for $48-3/8.
Having Microsoft as the parent certainly has made life easier for Expedia. Since its inception in 1996, the site has generated a total of $790 million in airline ticket purchases, hotel and car rental reservations. There are now about 7.5 million registered users. According to Media Metrix, Expedia.com was ranked No. 1 as the most visited travel site for the six months ended September 30, 1999.
The site is a one-stop shop for travel. You have access to schedules, pricing and availability information for over 450 airlines, 40,000 hotels and all major car rental companies.
The competition is intense, though, and will worsen with the pending recent merger announcement of Travelocity and Preview. But the market seems to be big enough for several players. Travel is the biggest online retail category, with online transactions of $7.8 billion in 1999, an amount expected to be $32 billion by 2004 by Forrester Research.
BTW...I'm not selling till EXPE hits at least $100 |
