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

To: Randy Ellingson who wrote (101838)	4/21/2000 1:25:00 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Randy, For you interest. >April 21, 2000 MP3.com, the San Diego-based online music distributor, yesterday reported net revenues of $17.5 million for the first quarter ending March 31. That figure was up from $15.3 million for the fourth quarter of 1999, and $666,000 for the first quarter of 1999. The net loss for the first quarter was $18.1 million, or 28 cents per basic or diluted share, compared with $14.9 million, or 23 cents per basic or diluted share, reported in the last quarter. Liz Buyer, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, said she liked what she saw in the earnings report. Though MP3 has been hit by three lawsuits from record companies and musicians this year, Buyer said she believes the company is "not only fundamentally strong, but flourishing." MP3's site contains more than 387,000 songs and audio files from 62,000 artists. Consumers can search for, listen to and download music for free. Musicians who sued earlier this month are seeking royalty payments from MP3 for distributing their songs over the Internet. Earlier this year, the Recording Industry Association of America and a record label owned by former Beatle Paul McCartney also filed copyright lawsuits. "As for their legal troubles, I'll just leave that to the lawyers," Buyer said. She said she was pleased with the company's top-line growth. "Going from $660,000 to $17.5 million in a year shows great traction," she said. "And they have a strong list of new advertisers, including Sony, GM and Microsoft. "Their momentum is quite good. They are continuing to generate traffic and innovate. If things go as they plan, they should be profitable the first quarter of 2002." Jack Ripsteen, an analyst with Chase Hambrecht & Quist, said the MP3 earnings contained no major surprises. "It came in right around or even a little better than expectations," he said. "There wasn't a real downside to the report." Michael Robertson, MP3's chief executive, called the company's performance "solid" and predicted continued growth. He said the number of visitors to MP3's site continues to climb, rising from an average of 586,000 in February to 591,000 in March. Speaking in a conference call to analysts, he said a federal judge in New York may make a ruling April 28 on the record label suit against MP3. He said an out-of-court settlement is possible prior to the hearing. "I'm guardedly optimistic," said Robertson. But if the case goes to trial, Robertson said he believes MP3 will prevail. MP3.com's legal battles have created uncertainty in the company's share price. The stock reached a 52-week high of $63.311/4 on the first day of trading in July, and a 52-week low of $10 on Monday. Yesterday, shares, which trade as MPPP, closed down 561/4 cents to $10.561/4. First-quarter results were announced after the market closed.