February 2000 — Pets.com
The Pets.com IPO, February 2000
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It's February 11, 2000. Pets.com — backed by Amazon.com, fronted by a wildly popular sock-puppet mascot, fresh off a multimillion-dollar Super Bowl ad — has just priced its IPO at $11 a share. You're the analyst asked whether your firm should recommend it.
Pets.com's sock puppet had just starred in a Super Bowl XXXIV ad the month before, reportedly costing over $1 million for the airtime alone. Amazon.com owned a meaningful minority stake, and the IPO raised about $82.5 million. The pitch: pet supplies are a recurring, defensible category, and the mascot has already made the brand a household name.