The 2000–2002 collapse of internet-related company shares was called the dot-com crash.
The crash followed the dot-com bubble, during which investors drove up the prices of many internet businesses. Companies with limited revenue or no profits could attract large valuations because markets expected rapid growth from the expanding World Wide Web.
The Nasdaq Composite reached a peak of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. It then fell sharply as investors questioned business models, earnings prospects, and the sustainability of high valuations. Many start-ups failed, while stronger technology companies survived and later expanded.
The dot-com crash is often confused with the broader early-2000s recession, but the terms are not identical. The crash describes the collapse in technology-heavy share prices; the recession and corporate failures involved wider economic conditions. The period also helped expose accounting and governance problems at some major companies.