< would like you to address this specific issue if you can.>
The stock also hit $9 in 2001 and ten days later was at $18. Any rational explanation? The short ratio is #9 of all stocks. The current stock price has no meaning to me as I've seen it fluctuate several times before. I invested in the company for the long term.
I think the progress of licensees and development of the infrastructure gives credence to the long argument that this was a technology that took years to develop but is now being commercialized. The mass production of film just began. The news coming from the licensees is that the market acceptance is good for the first few products. I see nothing that backs up your statement. In fact I don't understand your statement at all. What is your understanding of the economics of "this product" and by "this product" are you referring to the technology which is now being incorporated in several products or the SPD products themselves? I don't see where you can make such a statement without an understanding of the markets. Here's an overview presented by Carl Lampert, an expert in the field:
Dr. Lampert stated that the projected growth rates for the flat glass, flat-panel display, and self-dimmable rearview mirror markets are significant:
(1) The flat glass market’s current size is about 22 billion square feet worldwide per year, 60% of which is used in buildings and 30% in vehicles. The remaining 10% is used in mirrors and other applications. The growth rate for the glass industry has been stable at 4% per year since 1985. Dr. Lampert noted that just a 2% penetration of the overall window market by switchable glazing products represents a $9 billion a year market for "smart" windows. Dr. Lampert also noted that there is a growing interest in the glass industry for "smart" window applications including commercial and residential windows and skylights. The aircraft industry is also investigating using "smart" windows in aircraft with special interest in those technologies which work with plastic materials instead of glass. Incorporating plastic "smart" windows in aircraft would also have a positive impact in terms of weight reduction, which reduces fuel consumption. Since SPD technology can be used with plastic, this particular product applications should be of great interest to Research Frontiers and its licensees. Window products presently on the market sell at or above $100 per square foot which, in Dr. Lampert’s opinion, is much too expensive. Since the industry is looking for a sale price of $20 a square foot, there are companies looking to position themselves within this price range. Dr. Lampert noted that a great potential exists here if costs can be cut, and, therefore, he foresees a great potential for market penetration by SPD technology.
(2) The informational display market is growing at an explosive rate. The combined market for flat-panel displays and cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) is $43 billion, and this market is almost divided equally between the two. Dr. Lampert noted that projected revenue growth in the flat-panel industry is tremendous. Revenue is projected to grow from approximately $20 billion in 1999 to $73 billion by 2004. He also mentioned several products with growth potential that should be of interest to RFI and SPD technology: Notebook computers-projected growth rate $8 billion to $20 billion. Dr. Lampert stated that he expects to see a large capacity change in 2001 as a large number of manufacturing facilities are being built. Mobile phones-projected growth rate from $1.4 billion to $16 billion. Dr. Lampert noted that displays for mobile phones were becoming very significant-particularly those that are light weight with low power consumption. Print media-as an editor, Dr. Lampert stated that he is involved in this $100 billion publishing market. This market consists of books and newspapers with a revolution going on in the electronic book area. Electronic books enable you to load several novels onto a slim electronic book, reload new novels, stock market information, etc.. Dr. Lampert noted that we are beginning to see some e-Books coming into the marketplace. As a result, low-cost displays are very important for the growth of the e-Book market. Other growth-oriented products noted by Dr. Lampert were low information, large banner displays for expressways and grocery stores, and low-cost handheld computers which would enable employees to electronically change shelf pricing in grocery stores. Dr. Lampert noted that electronic pricing already exists in Europe and is viewed as a time-saving device for employees.
(3) Automotive rear-view mirror market: The size of the automotive mirror market, according to Dr. Lampert is approximately $1 billion. At present electrochromic mirrors have penetrated only about 10% of this growing market.
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