Paul R. La Monica

Barry Diller is back at the helm of media and internet conglomerate IAC. Diller, who turned 83 earlier this month, even appeared on the company's earnings conference call for the first time since April 2014.

IAC, which owns Dotdash Meredith, the publisher of People and several other print and digital publications, the Ask.com search business and the Care.com marketplace for child, senior, and pet care, reported mixed results for the fourth quarter after the closing bell Tuesday. Sales fell nearly 7% but topped Wall Street's forecasts. The company also reported a net loss of nearly $200 million, but that was a smaller loss than what analysts were expecting. The stock rose nearly 6% Wednesday.

Diller expressed confidence that Dotdash Meredith, which also owns Better Homes and Gardens, Southern Living and Investopedia, is turning around after a rough stretch of advertising weakness. He referred to Dotdash Meredith as "an excellent asset" that is part of "the bedrock right now of IAC."

Dotdash Meredith will take on even more importance for IAC now that it is spinning off Angi, the home-services company formerly known as Angie's List. That transaction is expected to close by the end of March. Former IAC CEO Joey Levin will become the executive chairman at Angi, opening the door for Diller, IAC's founder, chairman, and senior executive, to once again lead IAC.

Diller said on the conference call that now was the "perfect time" to do the spinoff since Angi, which also reported strong fourth-quarter revenue Tuesday, had turned things around in the past two years by getting rid of low-margin revenue, and halting capital expenditures.

"When businesses get to a sufficient size they should be spun off and independent," Diller said.

IAC also owns sizable minority stakes in casino company MGM Resorts (about 22%) and privately held car sharing service Turo (around 33%.) Diller praised MGM on the conference call, comparing it to a luxury Patek Philippe watch and saying that the stock was "wildly undervalued." He added that IAC may even increase its ownership in the company, calling it a "forever asset."

The question now though is what IAC and Diller want to invest in next. The company has a history of incubating businesses, and then spinning them off, having done so with Expedia, Match Group, LendingTree, Vimeo and numerous other companies.

There has also been chatter about IAC making a big acquisition. Diller said in an interview with CNBC last year that IAC was trying to buy media company Paramount Global, but that the deal fell through. Paramount is in the process of merging with Skydance Media.

Diller said on Wednesday's conference call though that IAC was "not anxious to invest but is looking for good ideas." He added that the priority is continuing to grow Dotdash Meredith, which has shown recent momentum.

IAC Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Christopher Halpin said in an interview with Barron's that digital revenue was up 10% at Dotdash Meredith in the quarter, and that IAC was "thrilled by the strong performance of print."

Wall Street is bullish on IAC. Eleven of the 14 analysts that cover it have Buy or Outperform ratings, according to FactSet, and the consensus price target of $67.75 is 55% above the current price. Investors, however, still seem unconvinced that IAC's conglomerate strategy is working. The stock is down 20% over the past 12 months.

Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com

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February 12, 2025 16:33 ET (21:33 GMT)

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