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

To: Michael Collings who wrote (10334)	4/19/1998 11:08:00 AM
From: Edward Burgener	Respond to of 27307

I can remember hearing about "new eras" before.. I keep wondering how much YAHOO "free" stock information service is worth to me .. $10 a month.. easy! It has value to me. YAHOO could easily become the worlds premier financial services institution of the world. Who would ever use wall street again if YAHOO itself becomes an exchange? There could be a 10 fold increase in this company valuation over the next 8 years.. I don't own the stock, but sure wish I did!

To: Michael Collings who wrote (10334)	4/19/1998 12:00:00 PM
From: Bill Harmond	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 27307

>>I think you are confusing a mania with value. I agree with you that there is a mania of sorts occurring in the Internet sector. When Infoseek doubles in three days before earnings, that's a mania. The question is whether this current mania phase will end badly for Yahoo. I suppose everyone has a definition of "badly," but I don't think it will. I've thought (and said) all along that Yahoo could trade below $100 again, perhaps as low as the 60's. Yahoo has corrected this much twice before, so it would be nothing new. However, I now doubt Yahoo will get much below $100, and here's why: 1. First quarter results were an absolute standout. It was Yahoo's results, after all, that got people buying every Internet stock on the planet purely on the basis that first quarter legitimized the Internet commerce space. Yahoo, however, demonstrated it's ability to leverage the market, showed that it's growth is getting stronger, and entered a accelerating phase in its financial history. As Montgomery's David Readerman (Bill Gates' favored analyst) said in his reassessment of his previous hold rating, "We believe this operating leverage is sustainable because of the company's leadership in Internet-based search services. Accordingly, our discounted cash flow valuation modeling indicates upside potential in Yahoo! common stock, despite the $5.2 billion valuation, or 23x our revised 1999 net revenue forecast of $229 million, or 125x our calendar 1999 EPS forecast of $0.75. We have raised our rating on Yahoo! to BUY as the leading branded aggregator of Internet traffic. Yahoo! stock is expensive, but we believe growth investors should participate in this high-growth vehicle. We believe the company's growth story is getting stronger and that investors should be rewarded over the long term." That doesn't smack of the Tulip Mania or the Mississippi Company to me. That sounds like Yahoo turned heads two weeks ago. These aren't starry-eyed kids making irresponsible statements. These words come from seasoned minds. After all, David had changed his opinion from buy to hold back in October at $58 based on valuation. 2. On the basis of Excite's numbers it's becoming apparent (and we need Lycos' and Infoseek's results to confirm this) that Yahoo's considerable lead in the sector is effectively unchallenged. If that is the case, then Yahoo operates on a higher plane because it can extract better terms. The strong get stronger. 3. International growth. Hardly any of first quarter revenues came internationally. The operating leverage overseas is simply huge. So, will CD Now, or Sportsline, or Amazon, or any the host of their junior brethren with unproven models see big corrections in their stocks when this current feeding frenzy runs its course. Sure. Maybe. Who knows? The point here is will Yahoo? I guess the answer depends on where Yahoo goes. At $121 we're certainly breathing rarified air, but I don't see irresponsible risk. Yahoo is and has been an exceptional situation, and every metric shows that Yahoo's fundamentals are growing stronger.