Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 Names eBay Fastest-Growing Tech Company in North America With 115,874 Percent Growth in Five Years.

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 14, 2001

500 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies in North America Average Five-Year Growth Rate of 6,184 Percent; Top Five Average 93,496 Percent Growth;

Internet Companies Top Fast 500 List for First Time

eBay Inc. topped the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies in North America based on average five-year percentage revenue growth.

An Internet company based in San Jose, eBay (Nasdaq:EBAY) revenues grew 115,874 percent from $372,000 in 1996 to $431,424,000 in 2000. This is the first time eBay has appeared on the Fast 500 ranking. For the complete 2001 Technology Fast 500 ranking, visit www.fast500.com.

Founded in September 1995, eBay, with Margaret C. Whitman as president and CEO, is the leading online marketplace for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses using eBay's proprietary platform.

The eBay community includes 29.7 million registered users and is the most popular shopping site on the Internet when measured by total user minutes, according to Media Metrix, a division of New York-based Jupiter Research, which ranks the top 50 Web sites in the United States.

"Being one of the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in the United States and Canada is an impressive accomplishment, because it measures sustained revenue growth over five years. In fact, 39 percent of our 2001 winners are repeat winners, an amazing accomplishment considering that these companies have an average five-year percent growth of more than 6,000 percent," said Mark Evans, managing director of Deloitte & Touche's Technology & Communications Group in San Jose.

Internet Companies Top the Fast 500 List for First Time

With eBay at Number 1, Internet companies occupy the first four spots on the Fast 500 ranking. This is the first time Internet companies have topped the list in the seven years since the program's inception.

Second on the Fast 500 is InfoSpace Inc. (Nasdaq:INSP), a provider of wireless and Internet software and application services based in Bellevue, Wash., with a five-year revenue growth rate of 107,704 percent. Its revenues grew from $199,000 in 1996 to $214,530,000 in 2000.

Third-ranked Excite@Home Corp. (Nasdaq:ATHM), the leader in broadband, offers consumers residential broadband services and businesses high-speed commercial services. Based in Redwood City, Calif., Excite@Home has a growth rate of 91,080 percent, growing from revenues of $676,000 in 1996 to $616,375,000 in 2000.

Ranked Number 4 is PFSweb Inc. (Nasdaq:PFSW), a Plano, Texas-based company which provides comprehensive outsourcing solutions including professional consulting services, order management, Web-enabled customer contact centers, customer lifecycle management and international distribution services. PFSweb had 77,924 percent growth, growing from revenues of $111,000 in 1996 to $86,607,000 in 2000.

Rounding out the top five is Mascon Global Limited, a global IT and software services company that provides end-to-end solutions based on a delivery model that combines offshore and onsite software services. Based in Schaumburg, Ill., Mascon Global Limited had a five-year growth rate of 74,900 percent, growing from revenues of $100,000 in 1996 to $75 million in 2000.

Winners Average 6,184 Percent Growth, Top Winners Average 93,496

Percent

Overall five-year growth rates for all 2001 Fast 500 companies was 6,184 percent, a substantial increase over the 2000 Fast 500 companies' average growth of 3,956 percent. Percentages for the 2001 Fast 500 winners ranged from 824 percent to 115,874 percent, up from 2000's range of 593 percent to 71,257 percent.

Combined, the top five winners' average growth rate was 93,496 percent, a substantial increase over the 2000 top winners' average of 59,367 percent. This year, Fast 500 winners had combined 2000 revenues of $86.2 billion.

Software and Communications Companies Dominate the Fast 500

Fifty-seven percent of the 2001 Fast 500 winners are in the software and communications industries. With 44 percent, software companies make up the greatest sector represented on the ranking. Communications companies comprise 13 percent, up from 9 percent in 2000.

Computers and peripherals companies represent 6 percent. Internet companies comprise 15 percent, down from 17 percent in 2000, the first time this segment has decreased in three years. For the past two years, the percentage of Internet companies had doubled each year. Semiconductors, components and electronics companies account for 6 percent of the Fast 500.

Biotechnology companies represent 8 percent of the Fast 500, down slightly from the 9 percent this category held for the 2000, 1999 and 1998 rankings. Medical, scientific and technical manufacturing companies comprised 7 percent, down from last year's 9 percent.

More Winners Based in Eastern U.S. Than in West for Third

Consecutive Year

For the third consecutive year, the Eastern United States is home to more Fast 500 winners than the West. Fast 500 winners in the Eastern United States make up 42 percent of the Fast 500 this year, down from 46 percent for 2000. The Northeast region has 23 percent of the winners, down slightly from 25 percent in 2000, while the Southeast has 19 percent, down from 21 percent in 2000.

The West has 32 percent of the winners, up from 27 percent in 2000. It had 30 percent in 1999 and 35 percent in 1998. The top three winners are based in the West -- two in California and the other in Washington.

California Home to 132 of Fast 500, 10 of the Top 20 Winners Based

There

California retains its title as home to more Fast 500 technology companies than any other state with 26 percent (132 companies) of the 2001 Fast 500 winners, up from 21 percent in 2000. Northern California is home to 92 companies, while Southern California has 40 companies.

Three of the top 10 winners are based in Northern California. In addition to Number 1-ranked eBay and third-ranked Excite@Home (see above), top 10 Northern California-based companies also include BackWeb Technologies Inc., a San Jose communications company. Tenth-ranked BackWeb Technologies had a five-year average growth rate of 53,908 percent, with revenues of $71,000 in 1996 growing to $38,346,000 in 2000.

New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland Also Boast Many

Winners

States with a large number of winners include New York with 33 winners, up from 28 in 2000 and Massachusetts with 31 winners, down from 38 in 2000. Virginia has 30 winners, down from 39 in 2000. Maryland has 21 winners, up from 15 in 2000. With 51 winners, Virginia and Maryland combined eclipse both Boston and Southern California as a technology center, but still do not come close to the 92 companies based in Northern California.

Canada Has 9 Percent of the Fast 500, Including Two of the Top 15

Winners

Canada boasts 9 percent of this year's winners, including two of the top 15 companies. Sixth-ranked Stratos Global Corp., a communications company based in Toronto, with headquarters located in West Bethesda, Md., had a growth rate of 73,068 percent. Its revenues increased from $241,000 CD in 1996 to $176,335,000 CD in 2000.

Fourteenth-ranked Dynex Power Inc., a components company based in Ottawa, had a growth rate of 45,651 percent. Its revenues grew from $117,000 CD in 1996 to $53,529,000 CD in 2000.

Canadian companies averaged 6,426 percent growth, up from 3,372 percent growth in 2000. This is the second year Canadian companies were eligible for the Fast 500. Their revenues were calculated in Canadian dollars.

Revenues Increase Throughout the United States

All of the regions saw an increase in average growth rates, except for the Northeast region.

Fast 500 winners in the Western United States had both the largest average percent growth rates and the greatest increase in average percent growth of all the regions. The West's average growth percentage was 8,777 percent, up from 4,579 percent in 2000. The West is home to 32 percent of the winners.

Southeast Fast 500 winners had an average percentage growth of 5,094 percent, up from 3,849 percent in 2000. The Southeast is home to 19 percent of the winners.

Fast 500 winners in the Midwest had an average percentage growth of 4,702 percent, up from 3,244 percent in 2000. The Midwest is home to 11 percent of the winners.

Southwest Fast 500 companies had an average percent growth of 5,770 percent, up from 1,988 percent in 2000. The Southwest is home to 6 percent of the winners.

Northeast Fast 500 winners had an average percentage growth of 4,244 percent, down from 4,308 percent in 2000. The Northeast is home to 23 percent of the winners.

Two Companies Rank on Fast 500 for Seven Consecutive Years

Two companies have weathered shifting market trends and economic fluctuations to appear on the Fast 500 ranking for seven consecutive years, since the program's inception in 1995. The seven-time winners are:

-- Number 192 VERITAS Software, a software company based in Mountain View,
Calif.

-- Number 480 Intermedia Communications Inc., a communications company based in
Tampa, Fla.

Qualifying Criteria for the Fast 500

The Fast 500 list is compiled from three sources: winners and candidates of Deloitte & Touche's 22 regional North American Fast 50 programs, nominations submitted directly to the Fast 500 and public company database research. To qualify for the Fast 500, entrants must have had 1996 operating revenues of at least $50,000 USD and $75,000 CD for the United States and Canada, respectively.

Deloitte & Touche researchers examined financial statements to validate operating revenues. Entrants are public or private companies with headquarters in North America and must be a "technology company."

About Deloitte & Touche

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Note to Editors: For a complete list of the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 500 winners for 2001 and past years, visit www.fast500.com.