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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (69314)	7/24/1999 5:32:00 PM
From: Paul Viapiano	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

<<<Yahoo and Amazon are in development phases, too. They're just on a different scale, and that takes time. That Yahoo is turning out such operating margins, and free cash flow, at this early stage is phenomenal..>>> ------------------------------------------------- Also, remember that even tiny start-ups such as you or I would start at home, can be expected to lose money for anywhere from 3-5 years. This applies to companies as small as a lawnmower repair shop or as big as a Sun Micro. The reason we are seeing such a plethora of companies without earnings is because in the past they would not have been offered to the public until they had earnings. We are now offered these companies much earlier in their startup cycle, which screws up the whole traditional valuation metrics. Now throw in the fact that these companies are operating in a brand new groundbreaking business or medium that has such broad implications in our technological future, well...you can see where the confusion begins, hence the volatility.

To: Bill Harmond who wrote (69314)	7/24/1999 5:54:00 PM
From: Eric Wells	Respond to of 164684

>>I think AOL and perhaps Yahoo and Amazon could have >>near trillion-dollar valuations as their commerce develops. William - what's your timeframe on this? I'm sure you know that Microsoft, the company currently with the largest market cap is not yet at $500 billion (although it was close earlier this week). I would say there are many uncertainties that might keep these companies reaching trillion dollar market caps - unless we get some real inflation. Traditionally, I believe it has been difficult for service companies to reach stratospheric market caps in absence of a monopoly (I view Yahoo and AOL as service companies). And if you were to sum the market caps of all existing retailers, I think you would come up with a value of under $400 billion - so Amazon at a trillion in the relative absence of inflation assumes it takes marjority retail market share and adds to it (or that AMZN trades at a uncharacteristically high PE for the retail space). Would appreciate your insights on when you believe trillion dollar market caps will be achieved and how. Thanks, -Eric