No one knows for sure how many adult-oriented sites exist on the Internet, but many of these "unique" sites fall under the umbrella of a handful of companies.
"The adult entertainment industry usually is not badly affected by a wider slowdown," says David Brenner, equity analyst at Ladenburg Thalmann. "The business is recession-resistant, though not recession-proof."
That's because adult entertainment products are relatively inexpensive and largely purchased on impulse, according to Brenner's colleague, Robert Routh, who says that U.S. sales of adult entertainment, including magazines, movies, telephone sex and the Internet, amount to about $11 billion.
Adult entertainment businesses can expect to see their market capitalizations at least triple over the next five to seven years, according to Routh. One reason is that the industry is becoming more socially accepted, he says, citing
Investing in this sector still has its pitfalls, however. Anyone with a cheap digital camera, a computer and a Web account can get into the business. Many mutual funds and individual investors avoid adult-oriented companies, and the industry is under constant fire from pressure groups and politicians.
One way for these companies to limit public scrutiny is to stay private. Among the large private adult-oriented companies are
One of the reasons Playboy fell behind, Brenner claims, is that it had hesitated too long before offering harder-edge content. That's one reason why Playboy bought the competing
Another big player is Barcelona, Spain-based
Brenner notes that Private Media's cable channels are already watched in 24 million homes worldwide, while Playboy's are seen in 26 million. The company is now trying to secure two satellite and cable channels in the U.S. and, if it wins permission, Brenner says he would be even more bullish on the stock.
After four straight years of losses, Houston, Tex.-based
Company | Price | Change From 52-Week High | Sales* | Net Income* | Market Value ($mil) |
|
$3.54 | -61% | $58 | -$1 | $74 |
|
14.65 | -8 | 301 | -53 | 285 |
|
5.60 | -53 | 28 | 6 | 158 |
|
2.10 | -38 | 18 | 1 | 10 |