Moderators, please forgive me for repeating some information below, but I had to start a new thread, as this subject is THE most critical information about the future of the share price. Revenue is everything for a online portal, but how do you measure it? The best way is to ask the question, how does it compare to REA, I have completed an in depth analysis of this subject in a way that nobody has done on hotcopper before. IMO, many investors would NOT have bought this stock if they had read what you are about to read right now.
When you read media releases for Domain Group about market penetration of 90%, they are talking about parity of listings. In fact in some areas of the country there are more listings on Domain than on REA. However, here is the kicker, if you are a realestate agent or home owner the cost of a basic listing is FREE on Domain Group. There is no FREE listing option on REA, even if the home owner doesn't pay for the basic listing, the realestate agency would be paying for that basic listing to REA. With Domain its FREE, they have done this to achieve parity of listings, but it has come at a MASSIVE cost to their revenue. Furthermore, when you compare the number of "featured" properties on both portals, you will find that there are a LOT more upgraded listings on REA than on Domain Group. For example, Domain Group has a portal for commercial property, called
www.commercialrealestate.com.au. When you compare the number of upgraded listings with REA's commercial portal
www.realcommercial.com.au the reality is that Domain Group is only achieving 90% of the upgrade revenue when compared to REA's counterpart. In summary, Domain Group has great penetration in terms of free listings, but does not have the same level of upgraded listings when compared to REA. Lastly, there are a number of companies working on a website/app which will enable landlords to rent/buy property directly with tenants/buyers. In other words, if the realestate industry is disrupted in the same way UBER has done to the taxi industry and Air B&B has done to the hotel industry, then their is no long term future for REA or Domain in terms of the dual-monopoly that it currently has in Australia. Unfortunately for Domain Group, they can never offer a website/app that enables landlords and tenants/buyers to interact with each other as it would disrupt their own business model, which is getting paid by realestate agents. REA and Domain are based on an outdated business model, which could and will likely be disrupted within the next few years. Buyers of this share be warned that the above dynamic is of real concern, for this reason, I am suggesting a buy price of $2.50 and a sell price of $3.50 (if it ever gets there again in the near future), that would be my short term strategy, but I would not buy and hold this stock long term.
If it is revealed that Domain Group was aware of its toxic culture before listing Domain Group on the ASX and they were simply buying time so they could get the market cap over $3.00 at the expense of investors, then this will be a matter for ASIC who will no doubt be opening a case file on the company. See article below, which talks to this subject:
http://www.copyright link/leadershi...own-puts-boards-on-high-alert-20171218-h06nnz
(20min delay)
