The Omaha-based company placed No. 30 on Business Week's last Info Tech 100 list. This year, Ameritrade is among the conquered. It didn't make the top 200. That's the way it goes for Internet warriors. Because of the collapse in stock valuations, the number of Net companies on the IT 100 list was cut nearly in half, shrinking from 27 a year ago to just 14 this time around.
Investors heartily agree.
In fact, their whole flight from Net stocks was what knocked some of the highfliers off the list. In addition, mergers claimed seven of last year's Internet elite. What has changed is investors' psychology, which has hardened from a speculative ardor into a prickly skepticism. Now, if Net companies hope to climb back into the ranks of the elite, they're going to have to start playing by a new set of rules. The new guidelines seem to have been crafted by accountants, not spend-happy visionaries.