Kozberg, A: Explaining Revenues and Valuations for Internet

There are always developing economic models which need better understanding, as the internet has been recently. I examine the earlier stages of this sector and develop a framework that encourages better data collection and valuations for these companies. With a broad sample of firms, and yet a more refined focus, I show that even while internet firms as a whole are difficult to value using accounting metrics, many business models could be priced via earnings. Results also show that, since the crash in 2000, earnings are increasingly becoming priced. Meanwhile, non-financial measures related to activity remain value relevant. I also examine a core difficulty related to analyzing new businesses, explaining revenue creation. Through the use of statistical methods infrequently employed in accounting and finance work, I look for causal relationships from firm expenditures through to activity generation and revenues. Results suggest that expenditures on SG&A and R&D, representing investments in website quality, can explain firm performance. This provides further evidence that both accounting and non-financial measures are significantly associated with drivers of firm value.