Several years ago, Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) was benefiting nicely from the mortgage boom. But, investors were skeptical -- could this last?
Well, Bankrate was smart to diversity its offerings, such as into credit cards and insurance. And it's working.
In Bankrate's Q3 report, revenues spiked 77% to $44 million (a record for the company). Net income was $6 million or $0.32 per share. Moreover, adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) came to $16 million, a 39% increase over the past year.
With the volatility in the financial markets, Bankrate got a nice boost from users looking for guidance. In fact, Q3 page views increased 11% to 160.1 million. No doubt, Bankrate certainly understands how to monetize such traffic.
Through most of 2006 there was a lot of discussion about the housing slowdown. The debate about whether or not America was going to witness a crash in the housing market has all but been settled. There is no question anymore that the housing pullback has been a tough one, and the ripple effect through the economy has yet to be fully realized. 
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