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The role of web visitors, sales revenue and R&D expense in the pricing of Internet stocks

This study explores various drivers of Internet stock prices. This study extends the previous work on Internet stock valuation along two dimensions: (1) the separation of Internet firms into web-related and non-web-related groups. (2) the incorporation of consideration for the effect of Internet shakeout on value drivers identified in this study. The primary findings are as follows.
First, this study finds evidence that contradicts the claims made by some analysts that web traffic metrics are no longer important. The findings show that web-traffic remains value-relevant to Internet stock price for the period Oct 1998 to May 2003.
Second, this study documents evidence against the “common wisdom”, as represented in the business press, that traditional financial statement information has limited usefulness in pricing of Internet stocks. The variable “revenues” is significantly positively associated with the stock price in the pre- and post-shakeout period for all Internet firms.
Third, consistent with prior research on other intangibles-intensive industries, this study finds that, in particular, product development (R&D) appears to be capitalized as assets by investors in their assessment of values of web firms during the testing period, including period subsequent to the industry shakeout in the spring of 2000. This research thus provides preliminary evidence of the value-relevance of R&D expense of the shakeout and maturation of the B2C Internet sector.
Fourth, with respect to the inquiry of the potential effect of difference in web-traffic on the pricing of Internet stock, the empirical results demonstrate the importance of this consideration. The findings indicate that raw web-traffic variable is not value-relevant for non-web firms, while it is value-relevant for web firms.
Finally, the market condition of Internet stocks appears to be influential in explaining the pricing of Internet share. The empirical result shows that the share prices of Internet stocks are higher before the market correction, when holding other variable as controlled.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:CHENGCHI/G0090353005
Creators曾博昇, Tseng, Po-Sheng
Publisher國立政治大學
Source SetsNational Chengchi University Libraries
Language英文
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
RightsCopyright © nccu library on behalf of the copyright holders

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