Valuation of the company
at end of first trading day,
in billions
Market value as
of Thursday, Sept. 18,
in billions
Initial public offerings
of selected internet companies
Alibaba
A Chinese e-commerce giant that
sells goods to consumers from a
number of platforms. It is one
of the largest I.P.O.s ever.
$168
(Initial value)
Sept. 2014
Has at least 200 million users.
The most anticipated Internet I.P.O.
since Facebook’s, but not nearly as big.
$31
$18
Nov. 2013
It has hundreds of millions of users, but it
took more than a year for its stock price to
recover after plunging following its offer.
$198
$105
Feb. 2012
Zynga
$2.8
$6.6
Dec. 2011
A social networking games developer whose
titles include Farmville and Empires & Allies.
Groupon
The site offers daily deals in more than
250 markets. But it faces competition and
its stock price has fallen.
$4.6
$16.5
Nov. 2011
$26
$9
May 2011
A social networking site for professionals.
Its share price has tripled since going public
$398
$27.2
Aug. 2004
It has become the No. 1 Internet portal
site and its stock price has soared.
Pets.com
–
$0.220*
Feb. 2000
A symbol of dot-com excess. It had little
revenue and went bankrupt within months.
Webvan
A grocery delivery company, its costs
were significantly higher than its revenue.
It went bankrupt in 2001.
–
$7.9
Nov. 1999
eToys
When it went public, its market cap was
larger than Toys ‘R’ Us, though its sales were
one-tenth the size. Went bankrupt.
–
$7.8
May 1999
TheGlobe.com
An early social networking site, the
company struggled to make money
and eventually went out of business.
–
$0.62
Nov. 1998
eBay
$64
$1.9
Sept. 1998
An online Internet auction site, it has become
a mature business and its value has grown.
Geocities
One of the first virtual communities.
It was bought by Yahoo, after which it
faltered. It mostly closed down in 2009.
–
$1.1
Aug. 1998
Amazon
$150
$0.56
May 1997
It started out selling books, but now
it is a huge Internet marketplace.
Yahoo
It became the No. 1 Internet portal and
its valuation soared. But it has struggled
since Google came along.
$42
$0.85
April 1996
Netscape Communications
$2.2
Aug. 1995
–
It had the first popular Web browser.
But Microsoft’s Internet Explorer replaced it.
America Online
Its fortunes rose as the Internet grew.
But a mega-merger in 2000 with
Time Warner was a failure.
–
$0.06
March 1992
Valuation of the company
at end of first trading day,
in billions
Market value as
of Thursday, Sept. 18,
in billions
Initial public offerings
of selected internet companies
Alibaba
A Chinese e-commerce giant
that sells goods to consumers
from a number of platforms.
It is one of the largest I.P.O.s ever.
$168
(Initial value)
2014
Has at least 200 million users.
The most anticipated Internet I.P.O.
since Facebook’s, but not nearly as big.
$19
$18
Nov. 2013
It has hundreds of millions of users, but it
took more than a year for its stock price to
recover after plunging following its offer.
$154
$105
Feb. 2012
Zynga
$3.3
$6.6
Dec. 2011
A social networking games developer whose
titles include Farmville and Empires & Allies.
Groupon
The site offers daily deals in more than
250 markets. But it faces competition and
its stock price has fallen.
$4.6
$16.5
Nov. 2011
$17
$9.0
May 2011
A social networking site for professionals.
Its share price has tripled since going public
$354
$27.2
Aug. 2004
It has become the No. 1 Internet portal
site and its stock price has soared.
Pets.com
–
$0.220*
Feb. 2000
A symbol of dot-com excess. It had little
revenue and went bankrupt within months.
Webvan
A grocery delivery company, its costs
were significantly higher than its revenue.
It went bankrupt in 2001.
–
$7.9
Nov. 1999
eToys
When it went public, its market cap was
larger than Toys ‘R’ Us, though its sales were
one-tenth the size. Went bankrupt.
–
$7.8
May 1999
TheGlobe.com
An early social networking site, the
company struggled to make money
and eventually went out of business.
–
$0.62
Nov. 1998
eBay
$65
$1.9
Sept. 1998
An online Internet auction site, it has become
a mature business and its value has grown.
Geocities
One of the first virtual communities.
It was bought by Yahoo, after which it
faltered. It mostly closed down in 2009.
–
$1.1
Aug. 1998
Amazon
$137
$0.56
May 1997
It started out selling books, but now
it is a huge Internet marketplace.
Yahoo
It became the No. 1 Internet portal and
its valuation soared. But it has struggled
since Google came along.
$37
$0.85
April 1996
Netscape Communications
$2.2
Aug. 1995
–
It had the first popular Web browser.
But Microsoft’s Internet Explorer replaced it.
America Online
Its fortunes rose as the Internet grew.
But a mega-merger in 2000 with
Time Warner was a failure.
–
$0.06
March 1992
Valuation of the
company at end of first
trading day, in billions
Initial public
offerings of selected
internet companies
Alibaba
2014
$168
(Initial value)
A Chinese e-commerce
giant that sells goods to
consumers from a number
of platforms. It is one of
the largest I.P.O.s ever.
Nov. 2013
Has at least 200 million users.
The most anticipated Internet I.P.O.
since Facebook’s, but not nearly as big.
$18
Feb. 2012
It has hundreds of millions of users, but it
took more than a year for its stock price to
recover after plunging following its offer.
$105
Zynga
Dec. 2011
$6.6
A social networking games developer whose
titles include Farmville and Empires & Allies.
Groupon
Nov. 2011
The site offers daily deals in more than
250 markets. But it faces competition and
its stock price has fallen.
$16.5
May 2011
$9.0
A social networking site for professionals.
Its share price has tripled since going public
Aug. 2004
$27.2
It has become the No. 1 Internet portal
site and its stock price has soared.
Pets.com
Feb. 2000
$0.220*
A symbol of dot-com excess. It had little
revenue and went bankrupt within months.
Webvan
Nov. 1999
A grocery delivery company, its costs
were significantly higher than its revenue.
It went bankrupt in 2001.
$7.9
eToys
May 1999
When it went public, its market cap was
larger than Toys ‘R’ Us, though its sales were
one-tenth the size. Went bankrupt.
$7.8
TheGlobe.com
Nov. 1998
An early social networking site, the
company struggled to make money
and eventually went out of business.
$0.62
eBay
Sept. 1998
$1.9
An online Internet auction site, it has become
a mature business and its value has grown.
Geocities
Aug. 1998
One of the first virtual communities.
It was bought by Yahoo, after which it
faltered. It mostly closed down in 2009.
$1.1
Amazon
May 1997
$0.56
It started out selling books, but now
it is a huge Internet marketplace.
Yahoo
April 1996
It became the No. 1 Internet portal and
its valuation soared. But it has struggled
since Google came along.
$0.85
Netscape
Aug. 1995
$2.2
It had the first popular Web browser.
But Microsoft’s Internet Explorer replaced it.
America Online
March 1992
Its fortunes rose as the Internet grew.
But a mega-merger in 2000 with
Time Warner was a failure.
$0.06