GoTo.com beats Street in second quarter

GoTo.com Inc. (Nasdaq: GOTO) topped analysts' estimates in its second quarter Wednesday even though it lost $7 million, or 20 cents a share, on sales of $3.6 million.

Its shares plunged 5 1/4, or 15 percent, to 29 5/8 ahead of the earnings report.

First Call consensus expected the Pasadena, Calif. company to lose 22 cents a share in the quarter.

GoTo.com, which operates an online marketplace that hooks up consumers and online advertisers, said it had more than 10,000 advertisers and 10 million users who benefited from its service in the quarter.

Last quarter, GoTo.com posted a loss of $7.4 million, or 24 cents a share, on sales of $1.5 million.

"We are very pleased with our 1999 second quarter results, a quarter which marked several milestones for the company," said CEO Jeffrey Brewer in a prepared release. "We raised $120 million through our initial public offering and the earlier mezzanine round of financing, which will allow us to continue to support the growth we've seen in our advertiser, affiliate and consumer bases."

After its June initial public offering, the stock stormed up to a high of 69 7/8 in early July. It has since pulled back with the rest of the downtrodden Internet sector.

All three analysts following the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" rating on the stock.

First Call consensus expects it to lose 83 cents a share in the fiscal year.