The dot-com crash was the U.S. stock-market collapse that followed the speculative boom in internet companies around the turn of the millennium.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite reached a peak of 5,048.62 on March 10, 2000. Many internet companies had attracted enormous valuations despite limited revenue, continuing losses, or business models that had not yet proved viable.
After investor expectations changed, technology shares fell sharply. The Nasdaq lost roughly 78% of its value from its 2000 peak to its October 2002 low. Numerous companies failed, while surviving firms faced layoffs, reduced investment, and stricter scrutiny.
The crash is sometimes confused with the later 2008 financial crisis. The dot-com downturn centered on technology-stock valuations and was not caused by the subprime mortgage system. Some internet companies did survive and later became major businesses, but the speculative pricing of the era did not.