The dot-com bubble burst in 2000 after extreme valuations of internet companies.
During the late 1990s, investors poured money into businesses associated with the rapidly expanding World Wide Web. Many firms had little revenue, no profits, or untested business models, yet their shares rose dramatically. The Nasdaq Composite became the most visible measure of this enthusiasm because it contained many technology companies.
The Nasdaq reached an intraday peak of 5,132.52 on 10 March 2000. It then fell sharply as investors reassessed earnings prospects, interest rates, and the sustainability of speculative valuations. The downturn damaged both publicly traded companies and venture-backed startups.
The crash did not mean that the internet lacked lasting economic value. Companies such as Amazon and eBay survived and later expanded, while many heavily promoted firms disappeared. The dot-com bubble is therefore commonly used to distinguish a transformative technology from unrealistic short-term pricing.