The stock-market collapse that followed the dot-com bubble around 2000 is commonly called the dot-com crash.
Technology and internet shares had risen dramatically during the late 1990s as investors expected enormous growth from online businesses. Many companies had little revenue, no profits, or business models that depended almost entirely on continued access to new investment.
The Nasdaq Composite reached a peak of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. After that peak, technology shares declined sharply as investors reassessed valuations, interest rates, and the ability of internet companies to generate sustainable earnings. The Nasdaq eventually lost roughly 78 percent of its value from peak to trough.
The crash did not mean that the internet itself failed. Companies with durable business models, including Amazon, survived and later expanded. The common mistake is to treat the dot-com crash as a collapse of internet use rather than a collapse in speculative technology valuations.