Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: country bob who wrote (35664)	12/21/1999 7:15:00 AM
From: Tecinvestor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

Good morning, CB. I don't think AOL is trying to shift its income from one to the other. I think AOL sees both subscriber revenue and e-commerce revenue as viable sources of income. I have seen nothing so far that indicates to me that the threat of free ISP is seriously eroding AOL's customer base. After all, the number of subscribers continues to increase. When the number begins to decrease, then I will become more concerned about loss of subscriber revenue. However, should there come a time when AOL is forced to reduce or eliminate subscriber rates, I am hopeful it will have developed a significant income stream from other sources (such as e-commerce) to more than make up the difference. Right now, I'm not worried about the potential problem of reduced subscriber rates. I'm more interested in seeing just how much revenue AOL will begin to generate from e-commerce. I don't think we can yet grasp the revenue potential of deals AOL is presently structuring, such as those with Wal-Mart and Circuit City, although I am optimistic it will be large. I believe we will have an indication of this going into the second quarter. Have a great day, CB. Tecinvestor

To: country bob who wrote (35664)	12/21/1999 10:55:00 AM
From: Rascal	Respond to of 41369

AOL is managing at least several brands now. Classic AOL, Compuserve and Netscape and ICQ. Each are priced differently to appeal to different target segments. Each derives income from 3 revenue sources, subscription/advertising/e-commerce. Their management challenge is to maximize profits at the corporate level by acquiring new members and retaining existing members. It is undesireable to cannabalize existing revenue streams but necessary to have tiered pricing to accomodate the mass market. I think they are geniuses at this! They are a market driven company and not a technology driven company and this allows them to anticipate and respond to the customer needs better than their competitors. They are always months and years ahead of whatever we can figure out. Money in the bank.