2011《财富》最愚蠢商业事件大盘点（下）

亏损大户Demand Media重启科技股上市热潮

    Demand Media公司（Demand Media）CEO理查德•罗森布拉特这些年一直对媒体信誓旦旦地表示，他的网络内容公司是盈利的。但Demand Media随后在申请首次公开募股（IPO）时，却暴露出了一段漫长的亏损史。

    1月份，Demand Media在披露上一财年出现5,300万美元净亏损（销售额为1.98亿美元）之后没多久，就公开上市。对于这些损失，投资者不以为然：该公司股价上涨了33%。首个交易日临近结束时，该公司的市值达到了15亿美元，比《纽约时报》还要高。

    随后，华尔街对于DemandM edia公司的热情逐渐冷却了下来，该公司股价在今年下跌了65%。但Demand Media的上市却为另一轮技术类公司上市热潮铺平了道路。一批盈利水平不稳定、甚或根本就没有赚过钱的公司，争相跃入公开市场。

    Groupon公司，我们在说你呢。——朱利安•波比顿

Demand Media starts string of dicey IPOs

    Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt spent years telling media outlets that his online content company was profitable. Then it filed for an IPO and revealed a long history of red ink.

    Demand went public in January right after disclosing a net loss of $53 million in its previous fiscal year, on sales of $198 million. Investors shrugged off those losses: Demand's stock rose 33%. By the end of the first day of trading, the company was valued at $1.5 billion -- more than the New York Times.

    Wall Street later cooled on Demand Media, and the company's shares have dropped 65% this year. But Demand's debut paved the way for a tech IPO resurgence, allowing a roster of companies with a shaky or nonexistent history of actually making money to make the leap onto the public markets.

    We're looking at you, Groupon. -- Julianne Pepitone