Internet

Groupon’s growth spurt nearing the end

9 Feb 2012

The newly-public online coupon firm increased sales five-fold in 2011 and even turned slightly profitable. But its first results since the IPO also show revenue growth slowed for a fifth consecutive quarter. Groupon will have to get a move-on to justify its $15.7 bln valuation.

Expect Mark Zuckerberg to morph into Murdoch

6 Feb 2012

It could take decades or only a few years but the overwhelming control investors are ceding to the 27-year-old Facebook founder will eventually cease to be in their best interest. Or at least that’s the lesson from media empires like News Corp, Viacom or The New York Times.

Facebook’s biggest risk lies in palm of your hand

3 Feb 2012

Half of the social network’s 845 mln users now access it through a phone, and that number is surging. Yet Facebook receives virtually no display advertising revenue from small screens. The shift to mobile Internet use could be Mark Zuckerberg’s biggest threat - and he knows it.

Facebook needn’t envy life inside China firewall

3 Feb 2012

About half the world’s Internet users live in China, where soon-to-IPO Facebook is banned. But the potential is uncertain anyway. China’s social networking scene is competitive; Facebook would be a latecomer. Google and Groupon show it’s hard to succeed inside the Middle Kingdom.

Too much success is priced into Facebook’s IPO

2 Feb 2012

That’s the message from the social network’s numbers and Google’s precedent. Growth and margins need to track the search giant’s trajectory to justify a $100 bln price tag. Investors will have to decide if much more than $50 bln leaves enough room for uncertainty and upside.

Facebook IPO won’t bring major status update

1 Feb 2012

Already, it essentially has the capital, liquidity and profile of a big publicly listed company. Disclosures will be news only to non-investors. And Mark Zuckerberg will stay firmly in control. The most public private company may just become one of the more private public ones.

Google feeds regulators fresh meat to chew on

1 Feb 2012

Antitrust concerns have swirled around the Internet search giant for years. Now, changes to its data-sharing policies are causing added alarm among lawmakers. So far, Google hasn’t crossed any major legal lines. But the company, led by Larry Page, seems destined to find them.

Apple’s cash is key to unlocking suppressed value

30 Jan 2012

Though it’s the world’s most valuable company, the iPhone maker doesn’t get full credit for its near-$100 bln cash hoard or its growth. A huge special dividend could be close to a free lunch. And regularly paying out half its earnings could show why Apple may be worth $1 trln.

Facebook IPO will put public markets to shame

30 Jan 2012

Unlike Google’s 2004 stock sale, everyone who’s anyone has already made a killing on the social network, from sharp VCs to Chinese and Russian billionaires to Goldman’s top clients. Hell, even Microsoft is up big. At $100 bln, it’s hard to imagine much is left for the hoi polloi.

AOL pinned down by girly startup on a shoestring

26 Jan 2012

The fading online firm hopes to regain its shine by focusing on the female demographic - an audience often ignored in male-dominated Silicon Valley. The plan has yet to pan out. Yet startup Pinterest is using the same strategy to grow rapidly - and at a fraction of the cost.

India imitates the bad Chinese way with censorship

25 Jan 2012

Slower growth is supposed to be a price worth paying for the sake of freedom. But censoring Salman Rushdie and Jay Leno doesn’t say much for India’s tolerance levels. And efforts to filter content on the Internet suggest India may be following China down the wrong path.

Apple juggernaut regains warp speed with new pilot

24 Jan 2012

The tech giant’s recent quarter blew away the previous rare let-down: around $30 bln of market cap added after hours proves that. The latest iPhone fueled a 73 pct surge in sales from the year before. With cash rolling in, the destiny of nearly $100 bln in the iBank is looming large.

Google finds new tech expectations hard to meet

19 Jan 2012

The Internet giant’s revenue rocketed 25 pct, but its shares still plunged after hours. Google failed to match Wall Street’s hopes, whereas Microsoft and IBM’s more pedestrian results reassured. In uncertain times, the old guard’s predictability can trump edgier possibilities.

Hollywood and Silicon Valley test wikigovernment

18 Jan 2012

Film and TV studios tried to sneak heavy-handed legislation to stop piracy past many U.S. lawmakers. Wikipedia and other Internet outfits belatedly woke up to the threat to their traditional openness. The spat reveals clumsy links among old media, new media and Washington.

Yang’s goodbye finally frees Yahoo

17 Jan 2012

The Internet firm’s co-founder has quit its board and those of valuable Asian properties. That gives Scott Thompson, the new CEO, fresh flexibility. Yang once got in the way of a high-priced sale to Microsoft; disposal or dismemberment of Yahoo is now that much more likely.

Ex-American Idol boss readies own tech audition

17 Jan 2012

Robert Sillerman, the onetime concert promoter and TV talent show mogul, is back with a new idea. A little cash, a listed shell and the buzzy concept of socially networked TV is now a big stake in a $1 bln company. But the venture so far only has an X factor in clever finance.

Yahoo’s gain is eBay holders’ pain

4 Jan 2012

The Internet company has nabbed the head of eBay’s PayPal as its new CEO. That’s good for Yahoo, but less so for eBay’s shareholders. The auctioneer’s payments business is a gem that could grow faster on its own. Thompson’s walk suggests such a split isn’t coming any time soon.

Jack Ma could pay high price to be rid of Yahoo

23 Dec 2011

The Alibaba founder wants to buy back most of Yahoo’s stake in his e-commerce giant. An earlier spat over their payment unit Alipay showed Ma has nuisance value and may deter other bidders. But financing it won’t be easy. After selling at the bottom, he risks paying a peak price.

Alwaleed pushes the limits with edgy Twitter stake

19 Dec 2011

Even though Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is known as a bold investor, his $300 mln stake in the regime-usurping social network is decisively edgy. The Saudi royal family member increases his cool factor, but supporting unregulated speech might not sit well in the kingdom.

Gray market trading sucking life from IPOs

16 Dec 2011

Facebook’s float will grab headlines next year. But as Zynga’s tepid debut shows, multiple private investment rounds and the ability to trade shares before going public mean there are slim pickings when public market investors finally get their chance to participate.