Which brings up the question of whether AOL can ever increase operating margins to 50%.
Steve, I agree, and furthermore, I don't see margins growing to anywhere near that with their current fee-based model. Which is why Pittman has been evolving the company to media-based, which is his background and also fits in with where the internet is going, IMO. How soon this will happen, and exactly in what way, is anyone's guess. I suspect the AOL we see today is little like the AOL we will see in a year or two, certainly in ten years. With broadband in whatever form, with interactive video, with convergence between data-based and entertainment-based services, etc, who knows where AOL will go? The best thing for AOL right now is what they are doing, which is growing the subscriber base. |
