15 Years After the Dot-Com Bubble, These Tech Stocks Remain Underwater

Strategic Insights -

The year 1999 saw the peak of the dot-com stock bubble, with many tech stocks experiencing significant losses over the past 15 years. While some tech giants have recovered and surpassed their dot-com-era highs, others remain far from their all-time highs. Companies like Microsoft, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and EMC still have a long way to go to regain their lost ground.

Key Takeaways:

  • 10 tech stocks from the dot-com era remain significantly underwater, with Yahoo, RealNetworks, and BroadVision being some of the most notable examples.
  • These stocks include Yahoo (YHOO), which has recovered from a low of 4.01 in September 2001, but still trades at 43.44; RealNetworks (RNWK), which went public in 1997 and peaked at 384 in February 2000, currently trading at 6.61; and BroadVision (BVSN), which rose to a split-adjusted high of 20992 in March 2000, but currently trades at 5.97.
  • Stamps.com (STMP), a provider of postage services, went public in 1999 and survived the dot-com crash, but still trades at 55.99, more than 40 times lower than its peak of 170.90.
  • Autobytel (ABTL), which provides online automotive marketing services, went public in 1999 and hit an all-time high of 290 during its first month of trading, but currently trades at 14.46.
  • United Online (UNTD), formed through the merger of NetZero and Juno Online Services, went public in 1999 and peaked at 175.41, but currently trades at 17.02.
  • Cisco Systems (CSCO) helped fuel the Internet boom during the dot-com era and reached a market capitalization of over $500 billion in March 2000, but currently trades at 28.92, with a market cap of $148 billion.
  • MicroStrategy (MSTR), a data mining and business intelligence software provider, went public in 1998 and soared to a split-adjusted high of 3330 in March 2000, but currently trades at 161.72.

Statistics:

  • Since the dot-com peak in 1999-2000, the Nasdaq Composite has bounced back to its current level of 4868.41, with some individual stocks, such as Priceline (PCLN), Amazon (AMZN), and eBay (EBAY), surpassing their dot-com-era highs.
  • Since its split-adjusted high of 125.03 in January 2000, Yahoo (YHOO) has fallen by 65.3%.
  • Since its split-adjusted high of 384 in February 2000, RealNetworks (RNWK) has fallen by 98.3%.
  • Since its split-adjusted high of 20992 in March 2000, BroadVision (BVSN) has fallen by 99.7%.
  • Since its peak of 170.90 in November 1999, Stamps.com (STMP) has fallen by 97.1%.

Sources:

  • "15 Years After the Dot-Com Bubble, These Tech Stocks Remain Underwater" by Investor's Business Daily (2015)
  • "15 Years Later, Some Dot-Com Bubble Stocks Still Underwater" by CNBC (2015)
  • "15 Years After The Dot-Com Bubble, Here Are The Largest Companies" by Business Insider (2015)