Have you noticed something different about the Internet stocks that survived the dot-com bubble?
Last night, Amazon
The Internet sector has logged more hits than the Anaheim Angels lately, with Amazon's shares nearly tripling over the past year. Yahoo! and AOL Time Warner
What gives? Like a cheesy B-movie, are these the horrific beasts that can't be killed? A couple of years ago, dot-com upstarts sucked down venture capital like plasma, and it bled out of their collective pores for a while. Now they seem to be self-sustaining, profitable survivors, with the intriguing distinction of hitting Wall Street numbers out of the ballpark at a time when many other sectors are striking out.
Ironic, ain't it?
Somewhere out there, eToys and Webvan are kicking themselves. If only they could've outlived the hype, maybe -- just maybe -- they would be giants walking through the ruins today. They banked on a never-ending supply of subsidies without ever formulating a workable operating model.
The Internet is a viable business format now, and those left standing are doing so unassisted. Pity the carnage.