AP -- May 1 -- In the quarter that ended March 31, IAC/InterActive, which owns brands like Ask.com , HSN and Match.com, saw many of its businesses expand both on- and offline. IAC/InterActive chief executive Barry Diller said in February it would invest a couple hundred million dollars on generating new content over the next several years. Also in February, IAC/InterActive said its Match.com dating Web site completed the buyout of personals sites Netclub in France and eDodo in China. Analysts expect to post earnings of 33 cents per share on sales of $1.58 billion. In an April 16 note, Stifle Nicolaus analyst Scott Devitt wrote the company's HSN, LendingTree and entertainment publications units will keep showing weakness this quarter. The analyst thinks IAC/InterActive's Ticketmaster and Ask.com arms had a strong quarter. Devitt rates the company "Hold." In a March 27 note to investors, AG Edwards analyst Denise Garcia initiated coverage of the stock with a "Hold/Aggressive" rating. The analyst wrote that the company's non-retail businesses should see 20% sales growth on average, but that growth won't be able to offset HSN's sluggish sales and margin declines. Shares rose 1.4% during the quarter, closing at $37.71 on March 30. In the past 52 weeks, the company's stock has traded between $23.54 and $40.99. FULL ARTICLE @ OPW
Mark Brooks: Golden boy, former Match.com CEO Jim Safka has trekked off to San Francisco to help a new fold of IAC companies add gold to IAC's coffers. During his watch Match.com refocused and grew steadily to $300+ million annual revenues.