Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was the period of stock market speculation in internet companies that built up in the late 1990s and burst between 2000 and 2001
What it means, how it is used and where it comes up, with its related concepts.
What it is and how it works
It is a historical episode. In those years many companies with unproven business models floated on the stock market and reached very high valuations, driven by the expectation that the internet would transform commerce overnight. The Nasdaq index, where many of them were listed, peaked in March 2000 and fell sharply in the following months.
The crash led to bankruptcies, closures and mergers and hit investors worldwide. Some companies survived and later consolidated. The episode is often cited when people debate whether other technology waves are overvalued.
Also known as
dot-com crash, internet bubble
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