The Rodney Dangerfield of Lead Gen
IACI just announced less-than-stellar Q4 results. The stock continues to languish near 52 week lows.
On a brighter note, ServiceMagic posted heroic numbers given the brutal consumer slowdown. Revenue was $25.3m, up 15% y-o-y, while EBITDA was $2m, flat y-o-y. They are in a highly seasonal business–in Q3 they were at 34m/8m.
ServiceMagic dominates its vertical (home improvement/home services) more than any other lead gen company. Given the significant economies of scale in a vertically-oriented lead gen business, they have a dominant strategic position.
Yet they are buried in IACI, where ASK.com, Match.com, and others get far more attention, and happen to be dramatically inferior businesses.
