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

To: Dustin who wrote (12535)	4/23/1999 7:40:00 PM
From: Tom Tallant	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

Sorry I can't give you a link...it's from the AOL board. America Online 3rd-Qtr Profit Seen at 9C: Earnings Outlook Expected Earnings America Online Inc., the world's largest online service, is expected to post a profit of 9 cents a share in its fiscal third- quarter, according to the average forecast from analysts polled by First Call Corp. It had a pro forma loss of $78 million, or 8 cents, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue is expected to climb to about $1.05 billion from $757 million. The year-ago results are stated as if the company's $10.2 billion acquisition of Netscape Communications Corp. in March had taken place. AOL said earlier this week that it would have a pretax gain of $567 million from the sale of Excite Inc. shares, and a pretax charge of $103 million for costs related to its purchase of Netscape, according to regulatory filings. Expected Time America Online, based in Dulles, Virginia, is expected to disclose its results for the quarter ended March 31 at the close of trading on U.S. stock exchanges on Tuesday. Behind the Numbers The company said a week ago that its total number of subscriber had mushroomed to 17 million as more personal-computer users chose to log on to the Internet for the first time. That means that AOL probably gained about 1.8 million new customers during the quarter, according to analysts. About $850 million of its revenue will stem from its $21.95 monthly subscription rate, said Abhishek Gami, an analyst at William Blair & Co. in Chicago. America Online signed up new customers at a record rate during the quarter, as consumers who bought personal computers over the holiday season sought to get the machines wired to the World Wide Web. Electronic commerce and advertising is expected to account for about $190 million of revenue, up with $117.9 million in the year-earlier quarter. The March quarter is typically slower for e- commerce than the prior quarter, which falls over the holiday season. AOL signed a number of advertising agreements with companies such as Cnet Inc., which said in February that it would pay AOL to put its computer-related content on the service. AOL has sought to increase its revenue from marketing alliances and electronic commerce since it shifted to a flat-rate fee in 1996. What the Experts Say America Online may beat estimates with profit of 10 cents or 11 cents, because it signed up customers at a record rate. It also will gain about $120 million in revenue through its purchase of Netscape. ''I was expecting 16.5 million members for the AOL service, so they'll probably beat my number by a good 300,000 to 400,000,'' said William Blair's Gami. ''AOL is the end-all and be-all of Internet companies,'' said David Levy, an analyst at ING Baring Furman Selz, who has a ''strong buy'' rating on AOL. ''They are the strongest brand name in the sector. We expect them to continue showing strong growth.'' Previous Market Reaction America Online rose 5.4 percent on Jan. 28 after it disclosed fiscal second-quarter profit that beat estimates and it announced a 2-for-1 share split. Apr/23/ 99 18:53 For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. Any redistribution of Bloomberg content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Bloomberg L.P. Any reference to the material must be properly attributed to Bloomberg News. The information herein was obtained from sources which Bloomberg L.P. and its suppliers believe reliable, but they do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information, nor any opinion expressed, constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any securities or commodities.(C) Copyright 1999 Bloomberg L.P. BLOOMBERG, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Financial Markets, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg News Radio are trademarks, tradenames and service marks of Bloomberg L.P.