Reported profits fell by 25% to $0.14 a share, although earnings on an adjusted basis actually rose by 43% to hit $0.31 per share. It's a disparity that comes with the territory, given IAC's wheeling-and-dealing ways.
Perhaps it's the eclectic nature of IAC's portfolio that has kept investors away. Unlike other conglomerates with a dot-com heartbeat, Diller's company is trading nowhere near its all-time high. Despite the gradual improvements, IAC stock is trading more than 30% off its peak set three years ago.
That's a shame, because all of the IAC puzzle pieces fit together a lot better than some may think. Yesterday, I explored how changes at RealEstate.com will work well with the company's Lending Tree and Service Magic referral businesses, and even with its CitySearch guides.
Even when you approach HSN and TicketMaster as operations catering to two entirely different market segments, they do share the common thread of trying to encourage consumer transactions.
Ask.com may ultimately be the real gem here. All one has to do is look up the lofty valuations behind search engine leaders like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), and Inside Value pick Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) MSN.com to grasp the potential. Yes, Ask accounts for less than 6% of the search engine traffic at the moment, but it's been growing lately, and the recent makeover should help it stand out from its larger peers.
AskJeeves didn't come cheap, as the company shelled out $1.85 billion for the acquisition, but when you consider than Google paid more than half that for a 5% stake in AOL.com, it may seem like a sweet deal in retrospect.
IAC/InterActiveCorp can probably use a corporate moniker that rolls a little easier off the tongue, but as far as virtual furnished apartments go, this one's a keeper.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story, although he has been a frequent freelance contributor to IAC's CitySearch.The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of theRule Breakersnewsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
