Technology

Internet and Data Services

76 investable US stocks · data to Saturday, October 24, 2026

Acquirer's Multiple percentile today71st percentile

Dearer than in 55% of quarters since 1999Its usual range since 1999 is the 61st to 78th percentile (the middle 80% of quarters), with a median of the 71st. Lower is cheaper: the 10th percentile is cheaper than 90% of the investable US market; the 50th is the middle.

Is it cheap because returns are depressed?

The industry is in its usual range on the multiple, and returns on assets are in their usual range. Free cash flow yield is in its usual range. A low multiple can be warranted when returns on assets are low, and a high one when they are high, so the multiple reads best next to returns and free cash flow, each against the industry's own history.

Over- or under-earning?

Earning about normally

Return on assets ranks at the 35th percentile of investable US stocks, against a median of the 42nd and a low of the 10th since 1999. That is close to its usual level, so today's multiple is about right on a normalized basis. If earnings normalize, the multiple would likely stay about where it is: from the 71st percentile today (dearer than 71% of investable US stocks), around the 69th, judging by where it sat in past quarters when returns were at their usual level. If returns fell to their low, it would be around the 86th (dearer than 86% of investable US stocks).

Percentile	Today	Returns normal	Returns at low
Return on assets (higher is better)	35th	42nd (median)	10th (low)
Acquirer's Multiple (lower is cheaper)	71st	69th	86th

Internet and Data Services's return on assets as a percentile, quarterly since 1999. The shaded band is its usual range; the dashed line its median.

Percentiles among investable US stocks. Return on assets is operating income over total assets, trailing 12 months. The last two columns show where it sat in past quarters when returns were within 7.5 points of their median (40 quarters) and of their low (7). The past, not a forecast.

Against its own history

Each chart is the industry's median stock as a percentile of all investable US stocks, quarterly since 1999. For the Acquirer's Multiple and debt to equity, lower is better. The shaded band is its usual range (the middle 80% of quarters); the dashed line is its long-run median; the dot is today. Green shading marks the better end of each scale and red the worse, and today's dot takes the colour of where it sits.

Acquirer's MultipleUsual rangePercentile of enterprise value ÷ operating income: lower is cheaper. Dearer than in 55% of quarters since 1999.

Free cash flow yieldUsual rangePercentile of free cash flow yield: higher is a bigger yield. Higher than in 68% of quarters since 1999.

Shareholder yieldHigher than usualDividends plus buybacks, as a percentile: higher is a bigger yield. Higher than in 78% of quarters since 1999.

Dividend yieldUsual rangePercentile of dividend yield: higher is a bigger yield. Lower than in 59% of quarters since 1999.

Return on assets, 5-yrUsual rangePercentile of five-year return on assets: higher is better. Higher than in 54% of quarters since 1999.

Debt to equityMost debt on recordPercentile of debt to equity: lower is less debt. More indebted than in 96% of quarters since 1999.

Company sizeSmaller than usualPercentile of market cap: higher is larger. Smaller than in 74% of quarters since 1999.

Internet and Data Services stocks in the screens today

In today's screens, cheapest first. ● marks one of a screen's 30 tracked picks.

Stock	Screen	Acquirer's Multiple	FCF yield	Shareholder yield

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Other Technology industries

Commercial Electronics cheaper than 95%Technology Consulting Services cheaper than 84%Communications Equipment cheaper than 66%Software cheaper than 65%Electronic Components dearer than 72%Manufacturing Equipment and Services dearer than 75%Semiconductor Manufacturing dearer than 76%Semiconductor Equipment and Services dearer than 80%Information Technology Distribution dearer than 86%Computer Hardware and Storage dearer than 98%

Quarterly since 1999 from point-in-time data. Each quarter, every investable US stock (price above $3, market cap above $75M, average daily trading above $850,000, no OTC, ADRs or MLPs) is placed in a percentile (0-100) against all the others on each metric. An industry's value is the median percentile of its stocks. Industries follow FactSet's RBICS classification. Percentiles describe the past; they are not investment advice or a forecast.