Paul’s posterous

Ancestry.com, which will trade under the ticker symbol ACOM, runs a subscription-based genealogy site. The company digs through billions of historical records to help subscribers name the branches on their respective family trees. While the venture may seem boring to the younger social-media set, a million people are willing to pay for the service.

And still more are signing up. Subscriptions are growing at a rate of 11%, with an average monthly fee of $16.50. Two-thirds of the subs are annual, though, and 38% of the site’s clients pay up for a premium package. Lifetime revenues per subscriber come in at $300, meaning that these people stick around for over 17 years. That explains the low 4% churn rate, which dwindles to 2% for Ancestry members who’ve stuck around for two or more years.

One of the worst pieces of financial journalism I have ever seen. Speaking of Ancestry subscribers:

"...these people stick around for over 17 years."

LOL. Yes, Ancestry has had subscribers for 17 years -- since 1992, years before the internet was even invented. That's how a lifetime value of $300 is calculated. :)

That's what you get when you don't realize that MONTHLY REVENUE is $16.50 per person -- not ANNUAL REVENUE.

Seriously, someone ought to QA this kind of stuff before people go out and buy or sell stock on weak analysis like this.