Over the past two years, the Internet stock universe has experienced
unprecedented change and growth, with the number of publicly traded ‘Net
companies increasing fivefold to more than 400.
Yet during this time, through exhilarating run-ups and stomach-churning
crashes, one fact has shone as bright and constant as the North Star: Cisco Systems , America Online
and Yahoo
(in that
order) remained the three largest Internet companies in terms of market
capitalization.
No more.
Thanks to a 49% year-to-date loss in value through Friday, Yahoo last
week was eclipsed by router maker Juniper Networks ,
which has by far the top-performing stock among Internet companies this
year, with a 264% gain.
With a market cap of $62.3 billion and climbing, JNPR knocks Yahoo into
fourth place, with a value of $57.2 billion.
And unless it can reverse its sagging fortunes, Yahoo will have trouble
defending that slot from high-speed chipmaker Broadcom , with
has gained 63% this year and now has a market cap of $51.0 billion.
Here’s a list of the 10 largest ‘Net players by market cap through
Friday.
1. Cisco Systems $448.6B 2. America Online $127.5B 3. Juniper Networks $62.3B 4. Yahoo $57.2B 5. Broadcom $51.0B 6. Ariba $37.0B 7. VeriSign $33.4B 8. i2 Technologies $31.8B 9. Sycamore Networks $28.5B 10. Exodus Communications $25.9B
As you can see, the list is dominated by infrastructure (Cisco, Juniper,
Broadcom, Sycamore ), B2B e-commerce companies (Ariba
and i2 Technologies
) and
corporate Internet services providers (VeriSign and Exodus
). Even AOL
generates most of its money by providing access.
That Yahoo, a consumer portal, is an anomaly on this list is both a
testament to its wild success and an indication that the company’s days
as one of the handful of largest ‘Net companies may be growing short.
Fears about a decline in Internet advertising – Yahoo’s bread and butter
– could drive YHOO shares and value down even further. Sure, Yahoo’s
market cap now is more than twice that of No. 10 Exodus, but as recently
as six months ago, Yahoo was worth nearly double the value of No. 4
Broadcom:
Largest Internet Market Caps Through March 8, 2000
1. Cisco Systems $452.9B 2. America Online $125.2B 3. Yahoo $93.2B 4. Broadcom $48.8B 5. Juniper Networks $42.7B 6. Sycamore Networks $39.3B 7. Internet Capital Group $36.1B 8. CMGI $34.1B 9. Ariba $31.8B 10. i2 Technologies $29.3B
Wonder where the two Internet incubators on the above list, CMGI and Internet Capital Group
, are in the wake of their respective ticker meltdowns? With
a 67% YTD loss, CMGI now has a market cap of $11.7 billion and ranks No.
17.
ICGE, meanwhile, has plummeted 73% this year to a market cap of $9.2
billion, placing it at No. 22.
Now let’s look at the largest Internet companies from one year ago:
Largest Internet Market Caps Through Sept. 8, 1999
1. Cisco Systems $222.2B 2. America Online $ 104.2B 3. Yahoo $39.7B 4. Amazon.com $20.7B 5. eBay $17.3B 6. Excite@Home $14.1B 7. Broadcom $12.3B 8. Juniper Networks $9.7B 9. Internet Capital Group $9.4B 10. priceline.com $9.2B
Notice that half the group above are consumer plays (AOL, Yahoo, Amazon.com , eBay
and priceline.com
),
which shows you how much things have changed in the past year.
Also, five of the companies on the list have since fallen off.
Amazon.com ($15.3 billion) is now ranked No. 15; eBay ($17.7 billion) is
at No. 14; Excite@Home ($6.6 billion) is at No. 31; and ICGE, as previously
mentioned, occupies the No. 22 slot.
The biggest freefall among last year’s list of ‘Net giants, however,
belongs to name-your-price e-tailer priceline.com ($4.3 billion), which
has tumbled all the way to No. 47. Even Capt. Kirk has been unable to
beam PCLN back up.
