[We] are not recommending that investors purchase shares. However, after it fell materially over the past few weeks, we see the stock as reasonably valued. |
A lot of these companies look at AOL as an entity that has huge traffic, a substantial number of users, a fair amount of subscribers and access to unique and differentiated content and services, ... Right now, it is very prized real estate when it comes to the Internet, particularly because its valuation may be depressed since it is in the midst of an ongoing turnaround, and part of a large conglomerate. |
As vulnerable as the Internet is, that is how vulnerable these companies may be. |
Clearly these three companies are becoming increasingly competitive vis-a-vis EBay, and the thought is maybe EBay would want to respond with a defensive move. |
Essentially, the company has decided to divest itself of its, by far, most successful and most prized business, and it's going to retain two businesses that I consider challenged at this point. |
For some time now Western Union has been the crown jewel of this company. |
I can't imagine that Microsoft would be worried as a result of this. On the other hand, it's something that probably has attracted their interest. |
I think a lot of folks who were at that meeting felt pretty chagrined, I would argue this is still pretty material information, given the high profile nature of this company and the emergence of click fraud as a high-profile subject. |
I think a lot of people are rationalizing the fourth quarter as a one-time tax hit. I don't agree. This indicates the company's need to focus on and invest in its ability to more effectively forecast, manage and execute its international operations. |
I think that you can, as a company, be very, very focused on the long term, while also providing helpful and detailed information to the investment community on a recurring basis. And I think that is ultimately what one of the company's goals has to be for 2006. |
I'd hesitate to characterize this is as comparable to what was going on in the late 1990s. Not every Internet stock is doing well. |
I'm just having trouble getting my arms around this. Why not buy a smaller player, or build it themselves? I just don't see why you spend that kind of money. |
It doesn't make a lot of sense. When people think of eBay, they think of auctions and commerce. They don't think of communications. |
It has been a difficult company to track. If the name hasn't changed, the business has changed. There's been a bunch of different acquisitions and divestitures. It's a more challenging company to cover and follow as an investor. |
It is no big secret that Microsoft and Time Warner have gotten closer over the last couple of years, ... The fact that there are these talks is not a surprise. The question ultimately would be how this would be structured, what the price would be and those types of things. A lot of folks observing this are taking a wait-and-see attitude. |