Three buys for e-commerce gains

Article Excerpt

Online shopping continues to grow quickly, mainly because the Internet makes it easier for consumers to find the merchandise they’re looking for and compare prices. Online shopping is also becoming more popular in developing countries, where there are few shopping malls and stores. The best way to profit from this trend is through companies that process online payments. These firms include well-established credit card businesses like Visa and American Express. We also like eBay, which is expanding beyond its online auction business into payments though its PayPal subsidiary. VISA INC. $159 (New York symbol V; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 810.6 million; Market cap: $128.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 12.4; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.visa.com) operates the world’s largest electronic payments network. The company processes credit, debit, prepaid and commercial payments under the Visa, Visa Electron, Interlink and PLUS brands. Visa gets its revenue from fees it charges card issuers and merchants for using its network…