exerpt of article from the thestreet.com (worth the subscription!) about critical path:
Critical Path, DoubleClick, 3Com and Conexant Systems
By Laure Edwards
Special to TheStreet.com
2/6/99 12:15 AM ET
A selection of some of the most intriguing tech stock ideas on the Web. The items presented do not represent the views of TheStreet.com; rather, the collection is offered as a service to our members who may be scanning the Web for stock-related information.
Critical Path
Steve Harmon (Feb. 2)
Companies don't keep technicians on staff to make sure telephones keep going, and one of these days, the same will be true for email services, says Internet analyst Steve Harmon. That's why he likes the prospects of San Francisco-based startup Critical Path, which provides outsourced email services to corporations. The company recently filed its intention to raise $51.8 million in an initial public offering.
Founded in 1997, Critical Path was generating $897,000 in revenues by 1998. It also posted a $11.46 million net loss. But like other Internet-related companies, the story is the promise of the future. Although 62% of Critical Path's revenues come from the Web financial site E*trade (EGRP:Nasdaq) and 30% from the Internet service provider Verio (VRIO:Nasdaq), the company has been busy inking more deals. More than 100 companies use its services, including US West (USW:NYSE) and Network Solutions (NSOL:Nasdaq).
USA.NET and iName are two challengers that have strong footholds with portals and companies. Another big question is just how the Year 2000 problem will affect email. But this mission-critical (only telephone service is more critical to corporate communications) service has the potential to do extremely well as an industry. "If you consider the 10 million small- to medium-sized businesses in the U.S., the Fortune 500, the global companies, the increasingly sophisticated email offerings to come," says Harmon, "then the market for Critical Path seems ahead in many ways."
More information can be found at: www.internetnews.com |
