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NETFLIX Free Resources
Do these hulk...
Do these hulking threats mean Netflix is doomed? Not at all. CFO McCarthy argues that a big ad campaign by Blockbuster can only expand the market and even accelerate Netflix' growth. Perhaps. But if you're attracted to the prospects for online DVD rentals, consider that while Netflix trades at 18 times my estimate of its 2003 free cash flow, Blockbuster, at $18 a share, goes for 10 times the $310 million in free cash flow it stands to take in this year. It's worth recalling, too, how the great Amazon-Barnes & Noble match ended. Since Amazon (AMZN ) CEO Jeff Bezos was named Time magazine's 1999 Person of the Year, the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index sank 41%. In that time, Amazon's investors lost 68% of their money. Barnes & Noble's (BKS ) lost 12%.
Netflix' Pix Beat Mortar and Bricks
Renting DVDs over the Web and having them delivered by mail sounds cumbersome -- until you try it and discover the joy of no late fees
Who hasn't buried a video under the TV Guide and forgotten to return it before the late fees began a-risin'? And now that home-movie viewers have DVDs filled with extras like documentaries about the making of the films they watch, the temptation not to return a rental within the stipulated period is growing. But they can't expect sympathy from the teenager running the local Blockbuster or Hollywood Video: Miss the deadline and, ka-ching, it's the penalty box for you, pal.
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