In seeking out worthy Rule Breakers newsletter recommendations, dynamic mold-breaking trendsetters on the cusp of fancy and fashion sense, it would seem as though Autobytel (Nasdaq: ABTLE) deserves a closer look. As the leading automobile marketer the company has been able to utilize its Internet properties to result in enough leads to account for $40 billion in car sales this year -- or 8% of the market.
Of course, we don't live in an idyllic world. Look hard, and you will find dents and dings in even the shiniest of new cars. For Autobytel that moment of gravity came earlier this month when the company announced that it would miss its profit targets this year and 2005 because of a series of factors. It still stuck to its top-line guidance -- $120 to $125 million in revenue this year, $150 to $160 million next year -- but the market was left unimpressed. Having traded briefly above the $15 mark during the spring, the stock is surprisingly a tougher sell at roughly a third of that price today.
Last week I took some swings at the company. When I was invited to speak with CEO Jeffrey Schwartz yesterday I welcomed the opportunity to understand his company a little better. In a world in which waltzing into a car showroom with anxiously seedy salespersons isn't the most savory of tasks, why shouldn't Autobytel be a market darling as a virtual mediator, softening up the connection between someone looking to buy or lease a car and the dealership looking to move some wheels?
I voiced my concerns over the company restating its financials due to accounting mistakes. In a wired world where trust reigns paramount, after Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC) wiped its muddy feet on the integrity floor mat by lying to its insurance quote customers, would Autobytel customers lose faith in the auto enabler?
Schwartz didn't feel it would come to that. Restating $600,000 in financial statement errors is relatively petty. Autobytel works for both the buyer and the seller, and in a results-driven world that's more than enough to keep your corporate image polished.
Why does it work for both parties? For the car dealer, Autobytel offers an affordable way to achieve an incremental sale. While Schwartz claims that a dealership spends roughly $550 to move a car through traditional channels that sum runs closer to $150 through Autobytel. That creates a situation in which 31 of the 33 auto manufacturer brands are Autobytel customers.
So just as eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) has succeeded because of the vicious cycle in which bidders flock to where the auctioneers are -- and vice versa -- the company's websites are a traffic magnet, generating 9.5 million visitors this past month alone.
And, while we're at it, eBay and Autobytel aren't exactly rivals. While eBay has come to rely on eBay Motors as its biggest category, that's mostly used cars, while 85% of the car sales through Autobytel are for new cars. Sure, Autobytel is no slouch on that front with an inventory of 300,000 used cars through its partners, but it's not the pitch priority. And even beyond actual sales, Autobytel will have set up contractual handshakes for 4.5 million leases this year too.
Want to learn more? Come back tomorrow when we will go over why Autobytel doesn't need to play the paid search market, how it sees the fragmented dealership market shaping up and how it has been able to avoid the cyclical car market traps.
Have you been looking at the new 2005 car models, or do you go for the hefty price breaks available on used cars? When is it time to buy your next automobile? All this and more -- in the Buying and Maintaining a Car discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves to drive. He just can't always remember where he left the keys. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. He is also part of the
Rule Breakers
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