Mickey Mouse’s handlers consider taking a rumored 10% stake in Infoseek
(NASDAQ:SEEK), the ‘Peacock Network’ (NBC) effectively buys control of
CNET’s Snap portal, and suddenly the navigation stocks once again thrive on
the belief that old-line media firms may buy newfangled Internet
powerhouses, pushing Top 10 per user value to $91 on average.
Mecklermedia’s WebSite Value Index without Yahoo!, however, shows a little
more modest $80 average.
We’re carrying AOL.com at about 10% of its overall market capitalization
although the Web site could be worth double that.
| User Changes | May ’98 | April ’98 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yahoo | 31.4 | 32.9 | -1.5 |
| AOL.com* | 22.9 | 19.7 | 3.2 |
| Excite | 19.4 | 19.2 | 0.2 |
| Netscape.com* | 18.9 | 21.1 | -2.2 |
| Microsoft.com* | 17.4 | 18.8 | -1.4 |
| MSN.com/Hotmail | 14.8 | 14.9 | -0.2 |
| GeoCities* | 14.0 | 14.2 | -0.2 |
| Lycos | 13.7 | 15.0 | -1.3 |
| Infoseek | 13.3 | 16.2 | -2.9 |
| Disney.com* | 8.5 | 9.0 | -0.6 |
| source: Relevant Knowledge; in millions | |||
AOL.com was the biggest gainer in users, up 3.2 million in May vs. April,
according to Relevant Knowledge. Excite was the only other site to add
users, its survey reported.
Most of entire group, most of which held steady or even dropped a few
points according to unique user guesstimates based on surveys by Relevant
Knowledge. Debate that if you want. We would.
Here’s how the user counts
and market caps come together this week, with values creeping back up amid
the rumor fest:
| Mecklermedia’s | May ’98 | June 10 | June 17 | Percent | June 10 | June 17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WebSite | Unique Users | Market cap or PMV* | Market cap or PMV* | change | User Value | User Value |
| Value Index | (millions) | (millions) | (millions) | |||
| Yahoo/Four11 | 31.4 | $5,297 | $6,046 | 14.1% | $169 | $193 |
| AOL.com* | 22.9 | $1,750 | $2,200 | 25.7% | $76 | $96 |
| Excite Network | 19.4 | $1,477 | $1,784 | 20.8% | $76 | $92 |
| Netscape.com* | 18.9 | $1,450 | $1,500 | 3.4% | $77 | $79 |
| Microsoft.com* | 17.4 | $1,750 | $1,800 | 2.9% | $101 | $103 |
| MSN.com/Hotmail | 14.8 | $800 | $1,000 | 25.0% | $54 | $68 |
| GeoCities* | 14.0 | $400 | $450 | 12.5% | $29 | $32 |
| Lycos/Tripod | 13.7 | $827 | $1,103 | 33.4% | $60 | $81 |
| Infoseek/WBS | 13.3 | $816 | $1,080 | 32.3% | $62 | $82 |
| Disney.com* | 8.5 | $600 | $750 | 25.0% | $71 | $89 |
| TOTAL | 174.1 | $15,167 | $17,713 | 16.8% | $774 | $914 |
| AVERAGE | 17.4 | $1,517 | $1,771 | 16.8% | $77 | $91 |
| sorted by users; consolidated Web sites; primary share market cap; *PMV=estimated private market value (c) 1998 Mecklermedia | ||||||
Thank you readers & colleagues: Steve Harmon was named one of the ‘best
of Wall Street’ by CBS MarketWatch, the only non-brokerage, independent
financial analyst of the four honored.