To: Spytrdr who wrote (8973 ) 10/19/1999 3:34:00 PM From: ecommerceman Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 13953
Here's something for us longs to enjoy (even though I don't believe that E*Trade will be acquired)... The-Adviser.com The place to come for answers? E*Trade - The Year 2000 Independent Buy-Side Research by The-Adviser.com - Tuesday, 10/19/99 SERVICES Money Management Portfolio Reviews 401(k) Rollovers Retirement Financial Plans Estate Plans College Savings Ask The-Adviser Clients Only WHY US Benefits Available Services "Interview Us" Fee Information Disclosures Applications THE COMPANY Background Philosophy The Press Policies Opportunities LINKS Home Page Related Links Stock Quotes (Analyst is MD. Porcelain) - New York - On October 13, 1999, E*Trade reported 4th quarter results for the quarter ending September 30, 1999. These are the highlights: Revenue was flat at $173 million compared to the 3rd quarter due to price cuts New accounts added in the 4th quarter approximated 310,000 with total accounts slightly over 1,500,000. Net loss for the quarter was $26 million 18% of revenue are from International accounts Here is our outlook for the company for the next year: Partnership - Management of E*Trade has indicated that it is considering a partnership with a traditional investment firm. The decision is consistent with our original investment theme that we issued on January 2, 1999 that indicated that before the year was over, E*trade would be acquired. The Business Model Situation - The online industry faced the inevitable when Merrill Lynch announced a strategy of lowering online trades for individual investors. As we expected, this decision resulted in increased summer volatility for online trading stocks and an uncertain business model for online companies. Based on current trends, we believe that the model for online-trading is evolving into two forms: 1) Fee or membership based (unlimited trades for an annual fee) 2) Zero (advertising supported) We believe that because E*Trade has a loyal and growing customer base in the US and a growing International base, either form will benefit E*Trade - relative to its competitors. Customer Base - Unlike Charles Schwab, E*Trade has a low average account per customer. We estimate that each account held by an E*Trade customer approximates $18,000 as compared to an account held at Charles Schwab which has $98,000. The key to generating fee revenue is from transactions. Investors who maintain small balances are more likely to trade. In addition, these small accounts are generally not profitable nor desirable for Charles Schwab which makes it less likely that E*Trade's accounts will be churned. In fact, an aggressive campaign by E*Trade to go after the large balances would be welcome. The Stock Situation - We continue to see a short-term bottom on the stock near $18 and expect the stock to trade upwards to $25 before finding a new base. In our opinion, the decline in E*Trade has made an acquisition of the company by a large US bank much more affordable. We have dropped our three year target price on E*Trade because we believe acquisition will occur within this time-frame. We believe the biggest risk in owning E*Trade is the volatility. Investors should have the stomach to absorb swings of at least 40% on the downside. Our short-term and long-term rating on E*Trade remains a BUY. Our six month target price is $35 up from $24. Our EPS numbers will be released shortly.