Jonathan Berr
Though this is good news for eBay and Amazon, the impact for IAC is difficult to determine, given its huge range of businesses, including TicketMaster and the Ask.com search engine.
"We might see strong holiday sales from these two names in particular," says Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer of Solaris Capital Management, who follows the Internet sector, referring to Amazon and eBay. "Internet retailers should continue to gain market share." Still, Ghriskey, who manages more than $1 billion, says these stocks may face some tax-loss selling in September and October. IAC shares have been boosted by a better-than-expected second quarter and bullish comments Chairman Barry Diller has made about the struggling HSN business. eBay, the largest Internet auction site, has gotten positive attention from its advertising partnerships with both Google and Yahoo!. Google's online payment system, which analysts say posses a threat to eBay's PayPal business, also has been hurt by technical glitches that have annoyed some retailers. At eBay, "People are hoping that the bar has been set low enough that they make their number this quarter," says Mike Binger, who helps manage $1.5 billion for Thrivent Financial, including shares of the largest Internet auction site. "If they do, the stock is probably in the low $30s." eBay rose 53 cents Tuesday to $28.68.
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