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Technology Stocks : Altaba Inc. (formerly Yahoo) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Danny who wrote (23018)	7/15/1999 8:12:00 PM
From: Jeff Dryer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 27307

>I have no doubt in my mind that a new industry is forming (or has >been formed) and is growing rapidly. The sole reason investors >are willing to pay hefty premium for these stocks is that THERE >WILL BE a new MSFT or CSCO or WMT in this new industry 5 years >from now with market cap well over hundred of billions. And yet, >no companies other than YHOO AOL and AMZN are more likely to take >that honor. I would say that AOL is already valued as if it were a Microsoft of the industry. Yahoo and Amazon are priced like 2nd and 3rd players like an Oracle is to Microsoft. Here is a look at a few sector leaders and their market caps. Computers/Services 1. IBM $259 billion 2. Dell $120 billion 3. Compaq $50 billion Software 4. Microsoft $514 billion 5. Oracle $58 billion Network Equipment 6. Cisco $226 billion 7. Lucent $210 billion Communications 8. MCI WorldCom $172 billion 9. AT&T $151 billion Semiconductors/Equipment 10. Intel $236 billion 11. Applied Materials $30 billion Online Services 12. America Online $155 billion 13. Yahoo $41 billion 14. Amazon $30 billion (including options and convertibles) These market caps are rough estimates based on outstanding shares reported by these companies in the March '99 or most recent quarter. Amazon admits that they may not be profitable in the next 10 years and that if they do turn a profit, net profit margins will likely be in the 4 - 8% range. Meanwhile, Microsoft has Net Profit margins of 40% due to their monopoly position. Other companies, such as Yahoo, can pretend that their profit margins and industry position will be like Microsoft's, but there isn't a competitive or economic basis for such projections. There may only be one Microsoft. Analysts are doing a sales job (when they make statements about the next Microsoft) to get investors all wound up so they can get all their IPOs done, win M&A work, and make money on their firm's stock holdings.