IAC Stock Is Rallying Because the Vimeo Spinoff Could Be Big

Text size IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Vimeo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars. and the video hosting-and-editing unit’s monthly revenue is soaring. Dreamstime There shouldn’t be many surprises when IAC/InterActiveCorp reports earnings after the close on Wednesday. The internet holding company has taken the unusual strategy of providing monthly financial updates, and previously has disclosed the results for December. The numbers are literally an open book at this point. Street consensus estimates call for revenue of $798.1 million and profits of $1.14 a share—but in any case, earnings are not the factor behind the robust rally in IAC (ticker: IAC) stock—the rally ties to the company’s true core business, which is wheeling and dealing. IAC has rallied 64% since the company’s November announcement of plans to spin off Vimeo, a fast-growing provider of cloud-based video hosting-and-editing tools. At the time of the announcement, IAC also said Vimeo had raised $150 million in outside capital—and it has since raised another $300 million. IAC’s December quarter financial report showed Vimeo’s monthly revenue up 57% from a year ago—the highest growth of any month in 2020. IAC has arguably become a proxy for Vimeo shares. But there are other noteworthy moving parts. IAC owns 84%…
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