- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549 ------------------------ FORM 10-Q --------------- /X/ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 / / TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ______________ TO ______________ COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 000-26521 ASK JEEVES, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) DELAWARE 94-3334199 (State or other jurisdiction (IRS Employer of Identification No.) Incorporation or organization) 5858 HORTON ST., SUITE 350, EMERYVILLE, CA 94608 (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) (510) 985-7400 (Registrant's telephone number, including area code) Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. [X] Yes [ ] No The number of shares outstanding of the registrant's Common Stock as of October 31, 2000 was 36,175,710. - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASK JEEVES, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE -------- PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION Item 1. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements: Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2000 and December 31, 1999.................................. 3 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000 and 1999..... 4 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and 1999.................... 5 Notes to the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.................................................. 7 Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations................................... 11 Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure About Market Risk... 30 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION Item 1. Legal Proceedings........................................... 31 Item 2. Change in Securities........................................ 31 Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities............................. 31 Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Securities Holders....... 31 Item 5. Other Information........................................... 31 Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K............................ 31 Signatures........................................................... 32 2 PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION ITEM 1. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ASK JEEVES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE AND PER SHARE DATA) SEPTEMBER 30, DECEMBER 31, 2000 1999 ------------- ------------ (UNAUDITED) (NOTE 1) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents................................. $ 99,340 $ 17,420 Short-term investments.................................... 33,848 34,110 Accounts receivable, net.................................. 23,795 8,459 Prepaid expenses and other current assets................. 6,999 6,015 --------- -------- Total current assets.................................... 163,982 66,004 Property and equipment, net................................. 16,682 7,416 Intangible assets, net...................................... 409,450 1,984 Other long-term assets...................................... 7,201 360 --------- -------- Total assets............................................ $ 597,315 $ 75,764 ========= ======== LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable.......................................... $ 5,017 $ 4,717 Accrued compensation and related expenses................. 12,286 5,049 Accrued marketing expenses................................ 2,759 2,983 Accrued merger costs...................................... 1,442 5,280 Other accrued liabilities................................. 11,954 4,453 Deferred revenue.......................................... 34,884 7,347 Current portion of capital lease obligations.............. 868 818 --------- -------- Total current liabilities............................... 69,210 30,647 Capital lease obligations, less current portion........... 1,693 2,351 Other liabilities......................................... 1,315 1,315 --------- -------- Total liabilities....................................... 72,218 34,313 Commitments Stockholders' equity: Common stock, $.001 par value; 150,000,000 shares authorized; 36,154,088 and 28,472,883 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2000 and December 31, 1999, respectively.............................................. 714,279 107,236 Deferred stock compensation................................. (993) (5,175) Accumulated deficit......................................... (188,213) (60,568) Accumulated other comprehensive income...................... 24 (42) --------- -------- Total stockholders' equity.............................. 525,097 41,451 --------- -------- Total liabilities and stockholders' equity.............. $ 597,315 $ 75,764 ========= ======== See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. 3 ASK JEEVES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA) THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Revenues: Web Properties.......................... $ 15,862 $ 4,118 $ 42,483 $ 6,826 Business Solutions (1) ................. 13,167 2,684 30,172 4,299 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total revenues.......................... 29,029 6,802 72,655 11,125 Cost of revenues: Web Properties.......................... 4,551 1,804 14,193 3,665 Business Solutions...................... 5,772 2,087 15,197 4,653 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total cost of revenues.................. 10,323 3,891 29,390 8,318 Gross profit/(loss)....................... 18,706 2,911 43,265 2,807 Operating expenses: Product development..................... 6,343 2,347 18,591 5,313 Sales and marketing..................... 20,896 10,390 62,370 21,335 General and administrative.............. 7,481 2,077 19,592 4,681 Amortization of deferred stock compensation.......................... 306 696 1,535 1,605 Amortization of goodwill................ 22,533 -- 60,091 -- Write-off of acquired in-process technology............................ -- -- 11,652 361 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total operating expenses.................. 57,559 15,510 173,831 33,295 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Operating loss............................ (38,853) (12,599) (130,566) (30,488) Other income, net......................... 2,203 777 4,731 1,302 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net loss before taxes..................... (36,650) (11,822) (125,835) (29,186) ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Provision for income taxes................ 1,810 -- 1,810 -- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net loss.................................. $ (38,460) $ (11,822) $ (127,645) $ (29,186) =========== =========== =========== =========== Basic and diluted net loss per share...... $ (1.08) $ (0.44) $ (3.74) $ (1.65) =========== =========== =========== =========== Weighted average shares outstanding used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share............................... 35,479,976 26,859,523 34,161,975 17,659,947 =========== =========== =========== =========== (1) Revenues from related parties......... $ 4,206 $ -- $ 7,504 $ -- =========== =========== =========== =========== See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. 4 ASK JEEVES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) (IN THOUSANDS) NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- OPERATING ACTIVITIES Net loss.................................................... $(127,645) $(29,186) Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation and amortization............................. 3,809 700 Loss on disposal of assets................................ 3 11 Issuance of common stock to consultants................... -- 28 Compensation charge related to grants of stock options.... -- 175 Amortization of deferred stock compensation............... 1,535 1,605 Amortization of intangible assets......................... 64,030 199 Write-off of in-process technology........................ 11,652 361 Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Accounts receivable..................................... (14,255) (6,602) Prepaid expenses and other current assets............... 261 (1,943) Other long-term assets.................................. (220) 98 Accounts payable........................................ (1,846) 1,436 Accrued compensation and related expenses............... 6,958 3,685 Accrued marketing expenses.............................. (1,405) 855 Accrued merger costs.................................... (14,492) -- Other accrued liabilities............................... 6,749 3,169 Deferred revenue........................................ 27,154 2,595 --------- -------- Net cash used in operating activities....................... (37,712) (22,815) INVESTING ACTIVITIES Purchases of property and equipment......................... (10,487) (4,717) Purchases of investments.................................... (42,131) (25,315) Proceeds from redemption of investments..................... 35,139 -- Acquisition of businesses, net of cash and cash equivalents............................................... 12,646 -- --------- -------- Net cash provided by (used in) by investing activities...... (4,833) (30,031) FINANCING ACTIVITIES Issuance of common stock.................................... 129,347 47,578 Repurchase of common stock.................................. (2,254) -- Issuance (repayment) of notes receivable to stockholders.... (2,021) (400) Issuance of preferred stock................................. -- 34,178 Proceeds from capital lease financings...................... -- 1,809 Repayment of capital lease obligations...................... (607) (184) --------- -------- Net cash provided by financing activities................... 124,465 82,981 --------- -------- Increase in cash and cash equivalents....................... 81,920 30,134 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period............ 17,420 8,511 --------- -------- Cash and cash equivalents at end of period.................. $ 99,340 $ 38,645 ========= ======== 5 ASK JEEVES, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED) (IN THOUSANDS) (Continued) NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF NONCASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES Capital lease obligations incurred........................ $ -- $ 928 ========= ======== Common stock warrants issued in connection with lease financings.............................................. $ -- $ 158 ========= ======== Deferred stock compensation in connection with common stock options issued to stockholders in exchange for services................................................ $ -- $ 245 Foreign taxes paid........................................ $ 310 $ -- ========= ======== Interest paid............................................. $ 300 $ 31 ========= ======== See accompanying notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. 6 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED) 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES THE COMPANY Ask Jeeves, Inc. ("Ask Jeeves" or the "Company") provides natural language question answering technologies and services to deliver a humanized online experience. Ask Jeeves' solutions enable companies to convert online shoppers to buyers, reduce support costs, understand customer preferences and improve customer retention. The Company was incorporated in the State of California in June 1996, then subsequently reincorporated in the State of Delaware in June 1999. BASIS OF PRESENTATION The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary. Investments in affiliates in which the Company does not have a controlling interest are accounted for under the equity method and investments in which the Company does not exert significant influence are accounted for at cost. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements at September 30, 2000 and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000 and 1999 are unaudited but include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments and accruals) which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated financial position, operating results and cash flows as of the interim date and for the periods presented. Results for the interim periods ended September 30, 2000 and September 30, 1999 are not necessarily indicative of results for the entire fiscal year or future periods. The condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 1999 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999. USE OF ESTIMATES The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. RECLASSIFICATIONS Certain prior period balances have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation. COMPUTATION OF NET LOSS PER SHARE Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares of the Company's common stock, excluding shares subject to repurchase, outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is determined in the same manner as basic earnings per share except that the number of shares is increased assuming exercise of dilutive stock options and warrants using the treasury stock method. The diluted earnings per share 7 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) 1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (CONTINUED) amounts are equivalent to the basic net loss per share amounts because the Company has a net loss and the impact of the assumed exercise of the stock options and warrants is not dilutive. The following table sets forth the computation of net loss per share (in thousands, except share and per share data): THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Basic and diluted net loss per share Numerator: Net loss..................... $ (38,460) $ (11,822) $ (127,645) $ (29,186) Denominator: Weighted-average shares outstanding basic and diluted......... 35,479,976 26,859,523 34,161,975 17,659,947 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Basic and diluted net loss per share.... $ (1.08) $ (0.44) $ (3.74) $ (1.65) =========== =========== =========== =========== COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Capital lease obligations for equipment represent the present value of future lease payments under the agreements. The Company has options to purchase the leased assets at the end of the lease terms. In July 1999, IP Learn LLC filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which was amended by the plaintiff, which alleges that aspects of the Ask Jeeves technology infringe one or more patents alleged to be held by the plaintiff. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. Additionally, in December 1999, Patrick H. Winston and Boris Katz filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleges that our technology infringes two patents alleged to be held by the plaintiffs. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. We intend to vigorously defend against the allegations asserted in these complaints and we believe we have meritorious defenses to the claims. The results of any litigation matter are inherently uncertain. In the event of an adverse result in either of these lawsuits, or in any other litigation with third parties that could arise in the future with respect to intellectual property rights relevant to our products or services, we could be required to pay substantial damages, including treble damages if we are held to have willfully infringed, to cease the use of infringing products or services, to expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or to attempt to obtain licenses to the infringing technology on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, litigation frequently involves substantial expenditures and can require significant management attention, even if we ultimately prevail. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that these lawsuits will not materially and adversely affect our business. The Company is also subject to various legal proceedings, claims, and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company's management does not expect that the ultimate costs to resolve these matters, including the matters discussed in the following paragraph, will have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. 8 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) 2. BUSINESS SEGMENTS For management reporting purposes, the Company is divided into two business groups, the Web Properties Group and the Business Solutions Group. Results of operations for these business groups include revenues, cost of revenues and gross profit (loss) information as provided to the Company's President, who is the Chief Operating Decision Maker. Summarized financial information by segment for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2000 and 1999, as reported to the President is as follows (in thousands): THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- WEB PROPERTIES: Revenues................................ $15,862 $4,118 $42,483 $6,826 Cost of revenues........................ 4,551 1,804 14,193 3,665 ------- ------ ------- ------ Gross profit (loss)..................... 11,311 2,314 28,290 3,161 ======= ====== ======= ====== BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: Revenues................................ $13,167 $2,684 $30,172 $4,299 Cost of revenues........................ 5,772 2,087 15,197 4,653 ------- ------ ------- ------ Gross profit (loss)..................... 7,395 597 14,975 (354) ======= ====== ======= ====== The Company provides its natural language question answering technologies and services internationally through joint venture partnerships. Geographic information on revenue is as follows (in thousands): THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- REVENUES: North America........................... $24,484 $6,802 $64,532 $11,125 International........................... 4,545 -- 8,123 -- ------- ------ ------- ------- Total................................... $29,029 $6,802 $72,655 $11,125 3. COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) The components of comprehensive income (loss) are as follows (in thousands): THREE MONTHS ENDED NINE MONTHS ENDED ----------------------------- ----------------------------- SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 2000 1999 2000 1999 ------------- ------------- ------------- ------------- Net loss.................................. $(38,460) $(11,822) $(127,645) $(29,186) Other comprehensive income: Change in unrealized loss on investments........................... 11 -- 66 -- -------- -------- --------- -------- Total comprehensive loss.............. $(38,449) $(11,822) $(127,579) $(29,186) ======== ======== ========= ======== 9 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) 4. RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS In December 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," (SAB 101). SAB 101, as amended, summarizes certain of the SEC's views in applying generally accepted accounting principles to revenue recognition and classification in financial statements. The company is adopting SAB 101 in the fourth quarter of 2000 and does not expect its adoption to have a material impact on its revenues or results of operations. 10 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Except for the historical information contained herein, this overview and the following discussion contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed here. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in our Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed August 11, 2000 and our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed March 30, 2000. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere herein. OVERVIEW Ask Jeeves is a leading provider of natural language question answering technologies and services. We deliver our services through our Web Properties Group and our Business Solutions Group. Revenues associated with our Web Properties Group include all revenue streams generated from the Web sites we own and operate. This includes Ask.com, DirectHit.com and AJKids.com. These revenues consist primarily of three components: - advertising revenues; - eCommerce lead generation revenues; and - targeting and acquisition solution revenues. We earn advertising revenues from advertising contracts by delivering impressions to users over a specified period of time for a fixed fee. Advertising rates, measured on a cost per thousand impressions, or CPM basis, are dependent on whether the impressions are displayed in general rotation throughout our Web sites or are directed to targeted visitors to Ask.com and DirectHit.com in the various channels available, such as the computer, entertainment, family, health, money, shopping and travel channels. Revenues are based upon actual impressions delivered as measured by our third-party advertising delivery provider, DoubleClick, Inc. We also generate revenues from the facilitation of electronic commerce. Revenues from electronic commerce are generated when a user clicks on the answer that links to an electronic commerce merchant's Web site on a cost per click, or CPC basis. Electronic commerce transaction fees are derived from short-term electronic commerce merchant contracts, generally over a three-to-six month period. Targeting and acquisition solution revenues are generated from targeting programs designed to maximize the effectiveness of the Ask Jeeves' question answering and search technologies by creating dynamic, customized environments based on user behavior. Revenues from our Business Solutions Group include all revenue streams that are derived from companies licensing our technology. These revenues consist of two components: - professional services; - maintenance and usage fees. Since their introduction in October 1998, our Business Solutions have been adopted by more than 125 corporate customers. We are targeting accounts in the vertical markets of technology, financial services, telecommunications, retail, travel and government. We recognize professional services, maintenance and usage fees ratably over the contractual term, generally twelve months, commencing from the implementation of service. Payments received prior to service implementation or providing 11 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) maintenance and usage are recorded as deferred revenue and recognized ratably over the contractual term. Cost of revenues for our Web Properties Group consists primarily of salaries and related personnel costs associated with the content development, data analysis, testing and maintenance of our Web sites. Additionally, cost of revenues includes revenue sharing expenses associated with distribution relationships. Cost of revenues for our Business Solutions Group consists primarily of salaries and related personnel costs and other direct costs to provide professional services, information and maintenance services to our corporate customers. Cost of revenues also includes amortization charges related to certain technology assumed as part of our acquisitions. We believe that ongoing content development is required to remain competitive, and we expect that our production and content expenses will continue to increase in the future. Product development expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs, consultant fees and expenses related to the design, development, testing and enhancement of our technology and services. To date, all software development costs have been expensed as incurred. We believe that continued investment in product development is critical to attaining our strategic product objectives and, as a result, we expect these expenses to increase in the future. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries, commissions and related personnel expenses as well as advertising and promotional expenditures. We have a direct sales force dedicated to selling our services, which is supplemented by a number of strategic relationships with sales and implementation companies. We plan to increase our investments in sales, marketing, infrastructure and product management in an effort to capture market share faster. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related personnel costs and other related costs for general corporate functions, including executive management, business development, finance, facilities administration, legal, recruiting and fees for other professional services. We expect general and administrative expenses to increase in the future as we add personnel and incur additional costs related to the growth of our business. Other income includes income on our cash and short-term investments, partially offset by interest due on our financing obligations. For the three months ended September 30, 2000, we recorded amortization of deferred stock compensation expense of $306,000. At September 30, 2000, we had a total of approximately $993,000 remaining to be amortized over the corresponding vesting periods of the options, generally four years. Due to the graded vesting method of amortization, most of the deferred compensation charge will be incurred over the first two years of the vesting of the options. Amortization of goodwill relates to various purchase acquisitions, which is amortized ratably over the estimated economic lives of the respective assets, generally five years. We have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flows from operations since our inception, and at September 30, 2000, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $188.2 million. These losses have been funded primarily through the issuance of preferred and common equity securities, including our initial public offering in July 1999 and our follow-on offering in March 2000. We believe that we will continue to incur operating and net losses and negative cash flows from operations for the foreseeable future. 12 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) RESULTS OF OPERATIONS REVENUES Revenues were $29.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000, and $6.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 1999. Web Properties revenues were $15.8 million or 54.5% of total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2000 and $4.1 million or 60.3% of total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 1999. These revenues consisted of $8.0 million in advertising revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2000, and $3.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 1999. Electronic commerce revenues were $2.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000, and $149,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1999. Targeting and acquisition revenues were $5.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000 and $81,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1999. Our reach extended to 10.9 million unique users in September 2000, as compared with 11.8 million unique users for June 2000. We believe that the difference is due to normal seasonal factors that we experience during the summer months that adversely impact traffic. Ask.com ranked as the 19th most visited Web site in the September 2000 Media Metrix Internet Web properties listing. Business Solutions revenues were $13.2 million or 45.5% of total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2000, and $2.7 million or 39.7% of total revenues for the three months ended September 30, 1999. These revenues consisted of $3.7 million in professional services fees for the three months ended September 30, 2000, and $1.2 million in professional services fees for the three months ended September 30, 1999. Maintenance and information services revenues were $9.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000 and $1.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 1999. For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, revenues were $72.7 million as compared with $11.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Web Properties revenues were $42.5 million or 58.5% of total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and $6.8 million or 61.3% of total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. These revenues consisted of $26.0 million in advertising revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, and $6.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Electronic commerce revenues were $6.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and $150,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Targeting and acquisition revenues were $10.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and $136,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Business Solutions revenues were $30.2 million or 41.5% of total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, and $4.3 million or 38.7% of total revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. These revenues consisted of $10.8 million in professional services fees for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, and $1.6 million in professional services fees for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Maintenance and information services revenues were $19.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and $2.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. COST OF REVENUES Cost of revenues for Web Properties was $4.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000 and $1.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 1999. The increase in cost of revenues is attributed to increased third-party advertising management fees, revenue sharing costs, hosting costs, 13 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) and additional personnel and related personnel costs associated with developing, maintaining, analyzing and testing of Ask.com to support the growth in traffic and the resulting revenues. Cost of revenues for Business Solutions was $5.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2000 and $2.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 1999. The increase in cost of revenues is attributed to personnel and related personnel costs associated with providing professional services, information and maintenance services to our customers. Cost of revenues also includes amortization charges related to assets acquired. We expect our hosting, third party advertising management fees, content development and Web site costs will continue to increase to meet the demands for Web services and to provide additional services to users of our services. For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, cost of revenues for Web Properties was $14.2 million as compared with $3.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. The increase in cost of revenues is attributable to increased third-party advertising management fees, revenue sharing costs, hosting costs, and additional personnel and related personnel costs associated with developing, maintaining, analyzing and testing of Ask.com to support the growth in traffic and the resulting revenues. Cost of revenues for Business Solutions was $15.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 and $4.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. The increase in cost of revenues is attributable to personnel and related personnel costs associated with providing professional services, information and maintenance services to our customers. Cost of revenues also includes amortization charges related to assets acquired. We expect our hosting, third party advertising management fees, content development and Web site costs will continue to increase to meet the demands for Web services and to provide additional services to users of our services. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES Product development expenses were $6.3 million and $18.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, respectively, and $2.3 million and $5.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively. The increase in expenses resulted from the hiring of additional personnel and related personnel costs, consultant fees, expenses related to the design, development, testing and enhancement of our technology and services. We believe the development of additional features and tools are vital for us to remain competitive in our industry. We anticipate that we will continue to devote substantial resources to product development. As a result, these costs are expected to continue to increase in future periods. SALES AND MARKETING EXPENSE Sales and marketing expenses were $20.9 million and $62.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, respectively, and $10.4 million and $21.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively. The increase in expenses is attributable to advertising expenses related to our branding campaign, the hiring of additional direct sales and marketing personnel and sales commissions associated with the increase in revenues. We intend to continue pursuing an aggressive brand-enhancement strategy, which will include mass market and multimedia advertising, promotional programs and public relations activities. These costs are expected to continue to increase in future periods. 14 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES General and administrative expenses were $7.5 million and $19.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, respectively, and $2.1 million and $4.7 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively. The increase in expenses is attributable to hiring of additional personnel and related personnel costs for finance, legal, business development and internal information systems development and support that has accompanied the growth of our business, recruiting costs associated with filling key executive positions and depreciation expense associated with adding property and equipment. Costs associated with launching our international operations are also included. AMORTIZATION OF DEFERRED STOCK COMPENSATION For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, we recorded $306,000 and $1.5 million respectively, in amortization of deferred stock compensation in connection with the grant of stock options to employees and consultants. This compares with $696,000 and $1.6 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively. The decrease in amortization is due to our graded vesting method of amortization resulting in larger deferred compensation charges being incurred in earlier periods. AMORTIZATION OF GOODWILL For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, we recorded $22.5 million and $60.1 million respectively, in amortization of goodwill, compared with no amortization for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999. The increase is due to various acquisitions that took place in the fourth quarter of 1999 and the first quarter of 2000. IN-PROCESS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT For the nine months ended September 30, 1999, we recorded a write-off of purchased in-process research and development costs of $361,000 in connection with the acquisition of certain technology that took place in 1999. For the nine months ended September 30, 2000, we recorded purchased in-process research and development costs of $11.7 million as a result of acquisitions that took place in the fourth quarter of 1999 and first quarter of 2000. OTHER INCOME Other income was $2.2 million and $4.7 million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000 as compared with $777,000 and $1.3 million, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999. Other income consists primarily of interest income offset partially by interest expense. Interest income was $2.2 million and $5.2 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2000, respectively, and $841,000 and $1.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 1999, respectively. The increase in interest income is attributable to the interest on proceeds from our equity financings. RECENT EVENTS In December 1999, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin 101, "Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements," (SAB 101). SAB 101, as amended, 15 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) summarizes certain of the SEC's views in applying generally accepted accounting principles to revenue recognition and classification in financial statements. The company is adopting SAB 101 in the fourth quarter of 2000 and does not expect its adoption to have a material impact on its revenues or results of operations. SEASONALITY AND QUARTERLY FLUCTUATIONS IN OPERATING RESULTS Our operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. Factors that may adversely affect our results of operations include: - our ability to obtain new corporate customers, the length of the development cycle for corporate customers and the timing of revenue recognition with respect to contracts with corporate customers; - our ability to obtain new advertising contracts, maintain existing ones, and effectively manage our advertising inventory; - the number of questions asked and answered on Ask.com and DirectHit.com and on the Web sites of our corporate customers; - our ability to attract and retain advertisers and our ability to link our electronic commerce partners to potential customers; - seasonal and other fluctuations in demand for our electronic commerce services and for advertising space on Ask.com and DirectHit.com; - our ability to develop and introduce new technology; - announcements and new technology introductions by our competitors; - our ability to attract and retain key personnel; - costs relating to possible acquisitions and integration of technologies or businesses; - rate changes for advertising on Ask.com and DirectHit.com; and - marketing expenses and technology infrastructure costs as well as other costs that we may incur as we expand our operations. Because of the foregoing factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results should not be relied upon as an indicator of our future performance. As Internet advertising continues to make the transition from an emerging market to a more developed market, seasonal and cyclical patterns are developing in our industry that may also affect our revenues. For instance, during 2000, 1999 and 1998 traffic levels on Ask Jeeves fluctuated during the summer and year-end vacation and holiday periods. Similar to traditional media, this may result in our advertising sales being lower during these periods. In addition, we believe that sales from electronic commerce will increase during the fourth quarter as a result of the holiday season and will fluctuate during other periods. Seasonality in the retail industry and in Internet service usage is likely to cause quarterly fluctuations in our results of operations and could harm our business. 16 ASK JEEVES, INC. NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED) (UNAUDITED) LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES Since our inception, we have financed our operations primarily through the private placement of equity securities and our initial public offering and our follow-on offering. As of September 30, 2000, we had $133.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. Net cash used in operating activities was $37.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, and $22.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 1999. Net cash used in operating activities for the nine months ended September 30, 2000 resulted primarily from net losses adjusted for non-cash operating activities and increases in accounts receivable and accrued merger costs, partially offset by the timing of accrued compensation and related expenses, deferred revenue and other accrued liabilities. Net cash used in investing activities was $4.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, compared to $30.0 million for the same period a year ago. Net cash used in investing activities related to the purchase of investments of $42.1 million and property and equipment for $10.5 million partially offset by cash acquired by subsidiaries of $12.6 million and redemptions of investments of $35.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000. Net cash provided by financing activities was $124.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, and related primarily to net proceeds of $129.3 million from the sale of common equity securities. Net cash provided by financing activities for the nine months ended September 30, 1999 was $82.9 million. We have no material commitments or obligations other than those under capital and operating leases. Our capital requirements depend on numerous factors, including market acceptance of our services and the amount of resources we invest in site and content development, marketing and selling our services, and our brand promotions. We have experienced a substantial increase in our expenditures since our inception consistent with growth in our operations and staffing, and we anticipate that these expenses will continue for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we will continue to evaluate possible investments in businesses and technologies, and we plan to expand our sales and marketing programs and conduct more aggressive brand promotions. We currently believe that our available cash resources will be sufficient to meet our anticipated needs for working capital and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet our anticipated needs for working capital and capital expenditures, we will need to raise additional funds to fund brand promotion, develop new or enhanced services, respond to competitive pressures or make acquisitions. We may be unable to obtain any required additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our expansion, successfully promote our brand, develop or enhance services, respond to competitive pressures or take advantage of acquisition opportunities, any of which could have an adverse impact on our business. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution of their ownership interest, and the newly issued securities may have rights superior to those of the common stock. If we raise additional funds by issuing debt, we may be subject to limitations on our operations, including limitations on the payment of dividends. 17 BUSINESS RISKS OUR BUSINESS IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO EVALUATE BECAUSE OUR OPERATING HISTORY IS LIMITED We were incorporated in June 1996 and launched Ask Jeeves, at Ask.com, our public Web site, in April 1997. Our business model is constantly evolving. Because the Internet is constantly evolving, we may need to change our business model to adapt to those changes. Any investment in our company must be considered in light of the problems frequently encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving markets. To address the risks we face, we must, among other things: - maintain and enhance our brand; - expand our product and service offerings; - increase the amount of traffic to Ask.com and DirectHit.com; - increase the number and types of businesses that use our natural language question answer technologies and services; - increase the value of our natural language question answer technologies and services to our users, customers, electronic commerce merchants and advertisers; and - attract, integrate, retain and motivate qualified personnel. We cannot be certain that our business strategy will be successful or that we will successfully address these risks. WE HAVE A HISTORY OF NET LOSSES AND EXPECT TO CONTINUE TO INCUR NET LOSSES We expect to have net losses and negative cash flows for the foreseeable future. The size of these net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of growth of our revenues from our advertisers, corporate customers and electronic commerce merchants and on our expenses. It is critical to our success that we continue to expend financial and management resources to develop our brand loyalty through marketing and promotion, enhancement of our natural language question answer technologies and services and expansion of our other services. As a result, we expect that our operating expenses will increase significantly for the foreseeable future. With increased expenses, we will need to generate significant additional revenues to achieve profitability. Consequently, it is possible that we may never achieve profitability, and even if we do achieve profitability, we may not sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis in the future. If we do not achieve or sustain profitability in the future, then we will be unable to continue our operations. OUR NATURAL LANGUAGE QUESTION ANSWER TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES ARE NOVEL AND UNPROVEN We will be successful only if Internet users adopt our natural-language services and popularity-based searches as their primary method of navigating the Internet. Internet users have a variety of search techniques, such as search engines, available to them to navigate the Internet. Users can also rely on methods, such as call centers, chat rooms and e-mail, rather than difficult-to-navigate corporate Web sites, to obtain information on products and services. It is difficult to predict the extent and rate of user adoption of our natural language question answer technologies and services. We cannot assure you that widespread acceptance of our services has occurred or will occur. Visitors to our natural language question answer services may use it once or twice and then revert to traditional search techniques to navigate the Internet or choose new search techniques. 18 OUR METHODS OF GENERATING REVENUE ARE RELATIVELY NEW AND LARGELY UNTESTED We generated approximately 27.6%, 32.7%, and 7.6% of our revenues for the three months ended September 30, 2000 through Internet advertising, licensing to corporate customers and electronic commerce transaction fees, respectively. Revenues from Internet advertising will make up a significant amount of our revenues for the foreseeable future. Since the Internet advertising market is new and rapidly evolving, we cannot yet gauge its effectiveness as compared to traditional advertising media. Advertisers that have traditionally relied on other advertising media may be reluctant to advertise on the Internet believing that Internet advertising is less effective than traditional advertising media for promoting their products and services. Consequently, they may allocate only limited portions of their advertising budgets to Internet advertising. Our business could be seriously harmed if Internet advertising does not continue to grow or if we are unsuccessful in increasing our advertising revenues. Furthermore, we rely on a third-party advertising service, provided by DoubleClick, Inc., to deliver advertisements to our users. If DoubleClick fails to deliver the advertisements as contracted for, due to reliability or performance problems, or if advertisements cannot be targeted as promised to advertisers, our revenues may decrease. Furthermore, we expect Business Solutions to constitute a growing percentage of our revenues. As of September 30, 2000, we had provided question answering technologies and services to more than 125 companies worldwide. If we cannot demonstrate to Business Solutions customers that our services increase the rate at which browsers become purchasers, improve customer satisfaction on their Web sites and reduce expensive support costs, such as those associated with call centers, our ability to attract and retain corporate customers may be impaired. In addition, a portion of our revenues are derived from the facilitation of electronic commerce transactions. The market for Internet products and services continues to develop and is rapidly changing. Therefore, the success of our business depends upon the adoption of the Internet as a medium for commerce by a broad base of customers. If this market fails to develop or develops more slowly than expected, or if our electronic commerce services do not achieve market acceptance, our business may suffer. OUR PAST AND FUTURE ACQUISITIONS MAY BE DIFFICULT TO INTEGRATE, DISRUPT OUR BUSINESS, DILUTE STOCKHOLDER VALUE OR DIVERT MANAGEMENT ATTENTION. We have acquired a number of companies and are continuing to integrate the products, services, technologies and personnel from each company into Ask Jeeves. We may encounter problems associated with the assimilation of these companies including: - difficulties in assimilation of acquired personnel, operations, technologies or products; - unanticipated costs associated with the acquisitions; - diversion of management's attention from other business concerns; - adverse effects on our existing business relationships with our customers; and - inability to retain employees of acquired companies. If we are unable to successfully integrate our acquired companies or to create new or enhanced services, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits from our acquisitions. If we fail to achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquisitions, we may incur increased expenses and experience a shortfall in our anticipated revenues and we may not obtain a satisfactory return on our investment. In addition, if any significant number of employees fails to remain employed with us, we may experience difficulties in achieving the expected benefits of the acquisitions. As part of our business strategy, we may in the future seek to acquire or invest in additional businesses, products or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our business, 19 augment our market coverage, enhance our technical capabilities or that may otherwise offer growth opportunities. These future acquisitions could pose the same risks to our business posed by our prior acquisitions. In addition, with future acquisitions, we could use substantial portions of our available cash as all or a portion of the purchase price. We could also issue additional securities as consideration for these acquisitions, which could cause our stockholders to suffer significant dilution. OUR GROWTH WILL DEPEND ON OUR ABILITY TO DEVELOP OUR BRAND We believe that broader brand recognition and a favorable consumer perception of the Ask Jeeves brand are essential to our future success. Accordingly, we intend to continue pursuing an aggressive brand-enhancement strategy, which will include mass market and multimedia advertising, promotional programs and public relations activities. These expenditures may not result in a sufficient increase in revenues to cover such advertising and promotional expenses. In addition, even if brand recognition increases, the number of new users may not increase. Further, even if the number of new users increases, the amount of traffic on Ask Jeeves and the number of corporate customers may not increase sufficiently to justify the expenditures. TO MANAGE OUR GROWTH, WE NEED TO IMPROVE OUR SYSTEMS, CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES We have experienced and may continue to experience rapid growth, which has placed, and could continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, financial and operational resources. We expect that the number of our employees, including management-level employees, will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. We must continue to improve our operational and financial systems and managerial controls and procedures, and we will need to continue to expand, as well as train and manage, our workforce. We cannot be assured that our systems, procedures or controls will be adequate to support our operations or that we will be able to manage any growth effectively. If we do not manage growth effectively, our business would be seriously harmed. WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY COMPETE AGAINST OUR CURRENT AND POTENTIAL COMPETITORS We have a number of competitors for our natural language question answering technologies and services. BUSINESS SOLUTIONS GROUP We compete with a number of companies that are addressing the same need to improve automated or online customer service for corporate customers. For example, we compete with companies that provide shopping advisors, such as Active Research Inc.; automated e-mail response and live interaction, such as Kana Communications, Inc.; search technology, such as Inktomi Corporation; and customer relationship management, such as Siebel Systems, Inc. WEB PROPERTIES GROUP We face direct competition from companies that provide Internet-wide search and directory services. For example, we compete with search engines, including Excite@Home Corporation, Inktomi Corporation, Google Inc. and AltaVista Company, for the traffic generated by Internet users seeking links to third-party content to address their online information needs. We also compete with directory services, such as Yahoo! Inc., Goto.com, Inc. and LookSmart, Ltd. because they provide alternative ways for users to obtain the desired information. Our ability to compete depends on many factors, many of which are outside of our control. These factors include: the quality of content, the ease of use of online services, the timing and market acceptance of new and enhanced online services and sales and marketing efforts by our competitors and by us. 20 Many of our existing competitors, as well as potential new competitors, have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases and significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. This may allow them to devote greater resources than we can to the development and promotion of their services. Many of these competitors offer a wider range of services than we do. These services may attract users to our competitors' sites and, consequently, result in a decrease in traffic to our site. These competitors may also engage in more extensive research and development, adopt more aggressive pricing policies and make more attractive offers to existing and potential corporate customers, advertisers, syndicators and electronic commerce merchants. Our competitors may develop products and services that are equal to, or superior to, our products and services, or achieve greater market acceptance. In addition, current and potential competitors have established or may establish cooperative relationships among themselves or with third parties to better address the needs of advertisers and businesses engaged in electronic commerce. As a result, it is possible that new competitors may emerge and rapidly acquire significant market share. OUR INTERNATIONAL SUBSIDIARIES MAY NOT BE SUCCESSFUL Our wholly owned subsidiary, Ask Jeeves International, Inc., or AJI, was formed for the purpose of marketing our natural language question answering technologies and services outside of the United States. AJI has entered into joint ventures to provide our services in the United Kingdom and Japan and to the Spanish-speaking market worldwide. This expansion into international markets will require substantial management attention and financial resources. We cannot be certain that our investment in AJI and in establishing operations in other countries will produce the desired levels of revenue. In addition, AJI is subject to other inherent risks and problems, including: - the impact of recessions in economies outside the United States; - greater difficulty in accounts receivable collections; - unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; - difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations; - reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries; - unanticipated tax costs associated with the cross-border use of intangible assets; - political and economic instability; - fluctuations in currency exchange rates; and - difficulty in maintaining effective communications due to distance, language and cultural barriers. Some or all of the above factors could seriously harm the results of our operations. OUR OPERATING RESULTS ARE VOLATILE AND DIFFICULT TO PREDICT You should not rely on our results of operations during any particular quarter as an indication of our future results for a full year or any other quarter. Our quarterly revenues and operating results have varied significantly in the past and may vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors, including: - our ability to obtain new corporate customers, the length of time needed to implement our natural language question answering technologies and services for corporate customers and the timing of revenue recognition with respect to contracts with corporate customers; - our ability to obtain new advertising contracts, maintain existing ones and effectively manage our advertising inventory; 21 - the number of users of our Web sites, Web sites syndicating our services and the Web sites of our corporate customers; - our ability to attract and retain advertisers; - our ability to link our electronic commerce merchants to potential customers; - seasonal and other fluctuations in demand for our electronic commerce services and for advertising space on our Web sites; - our ability to develop and introduce new technology; - announcements and new technology introductions by our competitors; - our ability to attract and retain key personnel; - costs relating to possible acquisitions and integration of technologies or businesses; - credit risk of Internet companies within our customer base could affect future financial results; - rate changes for advertising on our Web sites; - marketing expenses and technology infrastructure costs as well as other costs that we may incur as we expand our operations; and - the timing of charges related to the acquisitions and any amortization of expenses related to the acquisitions. We have experienced lower traffic during the year-end holiday season and a slower rate of growth during the summer months. Given our limited operating history, user traffic on our Web sites is extremely difficult to forecast accurately. Moreover, obtaining new corporate customers depends on many factors that we are not able to control, such as the allocation of budgetary resources by potential customers. The average sales cycle for obtaining new corporate customers has typically ranged from two to four months. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the number of corporate customers that we will have in the future. We may be unable to adjust spending to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in our revenues. In addition we expect our operating expenses to increase as we expand our engineering, sales and marketing operations, broaden our customer support capabilities, develop new strategic alliances, fund increased levels of research and development and build our operational infrastructure. As a result, if we experience an unexpected shortfall in revenues, or if our revenues do not grow faster than the increase in these expenses, we could experience significant variations in the operating results from quarter to quarter. IF WE FAIL TO MEET THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE PUBLIC MARKET ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS, THE MARKET PRICE OF OUR COMMON STOCK MAY DECREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. Public market analysts and investors have not been able to develop consistent financial models for the Internet market because of the unpredictable rate of growth of Internet use, the rapidly changing models of doing business on the Internet and the Internet's relatively low barriers to entry. As a result, and because of the other risks noted in this discussion, it may be likely that our actual results will not meet the expectations of public market analysts and investors in future periods. If this occurs, the price of our common stock will likely fall. FAILURE TO ADD OR RETAIN CORPORATE CUSTOMERS MAY HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT ON OUR REVENUES. In the coming year we expect that revenues associated with corporate customers will be comprised primarily of corporations with large, difficult-to-navigate Web sites. If we do not complete sales to a sufficient number of customers, our future revenues will be adversely affected. Most of our corporate customer contracts have a term of one year following the implementation of our services. As a result, if we are unable to offer value to our customers during the term of these 22 contracts, or if our customers choose a competitor's service over our service, or if our customers decide to use their own proprietary technology to develop services similar to ours, those customers may not renew their contracts. If we do not obtain a sufficient number of contract renewals or if such renewal contracts are obtained on terms less favorable than the original contract, our business could be adversely affected. IMPLEMENTING OUR SERVICES FOR OUR CORPORATE CUSTOMERS IS LABOR INTENSIVE. Because the implementation of our services is labor intensive, it is difficult to predict the length of the development cycle. Factors that affect the length of the development cycle include the overall size and complexity of the Web site, the interaction with the customer and the dynamic nature of the content. Generally, it takes three to four months to launch a customized version of our services. The long development cycle makes it difficult to predict the delivery time to the customer, realize our revenue goals and manage our internal hiring needs to meet new projects. In addition, in order to meet increased demand by corporate customers, we may have to hire additional people and train them in advance of orders. When we outsource development of custom knowledge bases, we will have little control over the speed and quality of the development. Any decline in the speed or quality of the implementation of our services could seriously harm our business. WE DEPEND ON THIRD-PARTY CONTENT. Ask.com is designed to directly link users to a page within a third-party Web site that contains the answer to a question asked. However, when Ask.com attempts to direct the user to a page within the Web site, some companies have automatically redirected users to their home page. If companies prevent us from directly linking our users to a page within a third-party Web site, and if there are no comparable alternative Web sites to which we can direct our users, the utility and attractiveness of our services to consumers may be reduced. If this occurs, traffic on Ask.com could significantly decrease, which would seriously harm our business. Visitors to Ask.com use the site to obtain direct access to the information, products and services they need through the display of a third-party Web page containing the answer to the user's question. We have little control over the content contained on these third-party Web sites. If these third-party Web sites do not contain high-quality, up-to-date and useful information to the user, the utility of our service to the user will be reduced, which could seriously harm our business. WE MAY BE LIABLE FOR OUR LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEB SITES. We could be exposed to claims for liability with respect to the selection of third-party Web sites that may be accessible through Ask.com and DirectHit.com. These claims might include, among others, that by linking to Web sites operated by third parties, we may be liable for copyright or trademark infringement or other unauthorized actions by these third-party Web sites. Other claims may be based on errors or false or misleading information provided on Ask.com, including information deemed to constitute professional advice such as legal, medical, financial or investment advice. Other claims may be based on our links to sexually explicit Web sites and our provision of sexually explicit advertisements when this content is displayed. While no such claims are pending and we do not believe that any such claim would have legal merit, our business could be seriously harmed due to the cost of investigating and defending these claims, even to the extent these claims do not result in liability. Implementing measures to reduce our exposure to such claims may require us to spend substantial resources and limit the attractiveness of our service to users. WE FACE RISKS RELATED TO EXPANDING INTO RELATIVELY NEW SERVICES AND BUSINESS AREAS. To increase our revenues, we will need to expand our operations by promoting new or complementary products and by expanding the breadth and depth of our services. The expansion of our 23 electronic commerce services may strain our management, financial and operational resources. Our expansion into new product and service offerings may not be timely or may not generate sufficient revenues to offset their cost. If this occurs, our business, operating results and financial condition will be seriously harmed. OUR FUTURE SUCCESS DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO RETAIN OUR CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. Our future success depends, in part, on the continued service of Robert Wrubel, our Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Wrubel is not bound by an employment agreement for any specific term. Our relationship with Mr. Wrubel is at will. Although we are the beneficiaries of a key person life insurance policy on Mr. Wrubel's life, the loss of his services would seriously harm our business. OUR FUTURE SUCCESS DEPENDS ON OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT, RETAIN AND MOTIVATE HIGHLY SKILLED EMPLOYEES. Our future success also depends on our ability to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled employees. Competition for employees in our industry is intense. Additionally, it is often more difficult to attract employees once a company's stock is publicly traded because the exercise price of equity awards such as stock options are based on the public market, which is highly volatile. We may be unable to attract, assimilate or retain other highly qualified employees in the future. We have experienced, and we expect to continue to experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. THE INTEGRATION OF NEW MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL MAY INTERFERE WITH OUR OPERATIONS We have recently hired new management personnel, including a new President. To integrate into Ask Jeeves, these individuals must spend a significant amount of time learning our business model and management system in addition to performing their regular duties. Accordingly, the integration of new personnel has resulted and will continue to result in some disruption to our ongoing operations. WE WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO EXECUTE OUR BUSINESS PLAN IF INTERNET USAGE GROWS. Our business would be adversely affected if Internet usage does not continue to grow or grows at significantly lower rates compared to current trends. The continued growth of the Internet depends on various factors, many of which are outside our control. These factors include: - the Internet infrastructure may not be able to support the demands placed on it; - performance and reliability of the Internet may decline as usage grows; - security and performance concerns due to hackers and authentication concerns with respect to the transmission over the Internet of confidential information, such as credit card numbers, and attempts by unauthorized computer users, so-called hackers, to penetrate online security systems; and - privacy concerns, including those related to the ability of Web sites to gather user information without the user's knowledge or consent. THE OPERATING PERFORMANCE OF OUR SYSTEMS AND SERVERS IS CRITICAL TO OUR BUSINESS AND REPUTATION Any system failure, including network, software or hardware failure, that causes an interruption in our service or a decrease in responsiveness of Ask Jeeves could result in reduced user traffic on Ask Jeeves and reduced revenues. We have network and server equipment located at AboveNet, Exodus, Frontier Global Center and Qwest in various locations throughout California, Massachusetts and London, England. Although we believe that our current back-up methods are adequate, we cannot be assured that the back-up servers will not fail or cause an interruption in our service. 24 We have experienced slower response times and interruptions in service due to malfunction at our hosting facilities and on the Internet backbone networks, major software upgrades at Ask Jeeves and undetected software defects. Ask.com and DirectHit.com have had partial interruptions for periods ranging from a few minutes to three hours. In addition, Ask.com and DirectHit.com could also be affected by computer viruses, electronic break-ins or other similar disruptions. If we experience outages, frequent or persistent system failures or degraded response times, our reputation and brand could be permanently harmed. In addition, we could lose advertising revenues during these interruptions and user satisfaction could be negatively impacted if the service is slow or unavailable. Our users and customers depend on Internet service providers, online service providers and other Web site operators for access to Ask.com and DirectHit.com. Each of these providers has experienced significant outages in the past and could experience outages, delays and other difficulties due to system failures unrelated to our systems. The occurrence of an earthquake or other natural disaster or unanticipated problems at our principal facilities or at the servers that host or back-up our systems could cause interruptions or delays in our interactive network or a loss of data. Our systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from fire, flood, power loss, telecommunications failure, break-ins, earthquake and similar events. Our general liability insurance policies may not adequately compensate us for losses that may occur due to interruptions in our service. OUR SECURITY COULD BE BREACHED, WHICH COULD DAMAGE OUR REPUTATION AND DETER CUSTOMERS FROM USING OUR SERVICES We must protect our computer systems and network from physical break-ins, security breaches and other disruptive problems caused by the Internet or other users. Computer break-ins could jeopardize the security of information stored in and transmitted through our computer systems and network, which could adversely affect our ability to retain or attract customers, damage our reputation and subject us to litigation. We could be subject to denial of service, vandalism and other attacks on its systems by Internet hackers. Although we intend to continue to implement security technology and establish operational procedures to prevent break-ins, damage and failures, these security measures may fail. Our insurance coverage in certain circumstances may be insufficient to cover issues that may result from such events. WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ADAPT EVOLVING INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES AND CUSTOMER DEMANDS. To be successful, we must adapt to rapidly changing Internet technologies by continually enhancing our products and services and introducing new services to address our customers' changing needs. We could incur substantial development or acquisition costs if we need to modify our services or infrastructure to adapt to changes affecting providers of Internet services. Our business could be seriously harmed if we incur significant costs to adapt to these changes. If we cannot adapt to these changes, or do not sufficiently increase the features and functionality of our products and services, our customers may switch to the product and service offerings of our competitors. Furthermore, our competitors or potential competitors may develop a novel method of Internet navigation that is equal or superior to those we offer. As a result, demand for our natural language question answering technologies and services may decrease. WE MAY FACE POTENTIAL LIABILITY, LOSS OF USERS AND DAMAGE TO OUR REPUTATION FOR VIOLATION OF PRIVACY POLICIES. We have a policy against using personally identifiable information obtained from users of our natural language question answering technologies and without the user's permission. In the past, the Federal Trade Commission has investigated companies that have used personally identifiable 25 information without permission or in violation of a stated privacy policy. If we use this information without permission or in violation of our policy, we may face potential liability for invasion of privacy for compiling and providing information to our corporate customers and electronic commerce merchants. WE NEED TO EXPAND OUR SALES AND SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS. We will continue to expand our Web Properties sales and Business Solutions sales operations and marketing efforts to increase market awareness and sales of our products and services. We will need to increase our staff to support new customers and the expanding needs of our existing customers. Competition for highly-qualified sales personnel is intense, and we may not be able to hire the kind and number of sales personnel we are targeting. Hiring highly qualified customer service and account management personnel is very competitive in our industry due to the limited number of people available with the necessary technical skills and understanding of the Internet. GOVERNMENT REGULATION AND LEGAL UNCERTAINTIES COULD HARM OUR BUSINESS. Any new law or regulation pertaining to the Internet, or the application or interpretation of existing laws, could decrease the demand for our services, increase our cost of doing business or otherwise seriously harm our business. There is, and will likely continue to be, an increasing number of laws and regulations pertaining to the Internet. These laws or regulations may relate to liability for information retrieved from or transmitted over the Internet, online content regulation, user privacy, taxation and the quality of products and services. Furthermore, the growth and development of electronic commerce may prompt calls for more stringent consumer protection laws that may impose additional burdens on electronic commerce companies as well as companies like us that provide electronic commerce services. We file tax returns in such states as required by law based on principles applicable to traditional businesses. However, one or more states could seek to impose additional income tax obligations or sales tax collection obligations on out-of-state companies, such as ours, which engage in or facilitate electronic commerce. A number of proposals have been made at state and local levels that could impose such taxes on the sale of products and services through the Internet or the income derived from such sales. Such proposals, if adopted, could substantially impair the growth of electronic commerce and seriously harm our profitability. Legislation limiting the ability of the states to impose taxes on Internet-based transactions recently has been enacted by the United States Congress. However, this legislation, known as the Internet Tax Freedom Act, imposes only a three-year moratorium, which commenced October 1, 1998 and ends on October 21, 2001, on state and local taxes on electronic commerce, where such taxes are discriminatory and Internet access, unless such taxes were generally imposed and actually enforced prior to October 1, 1998. It is possible that the tax moratorium could fail to be renewed prior to October 21, 2001. Failure to renew this legislation would allow various states to impose taxes on Internet-based commerce. The imposition of such taxes could seriously harm our ability to become profitable. In addition, we are not certain how our business may be affected by the application of existing laws governing issues such as property ownership, copyrights, encryption and other intellectual property issues, taxation, libel, obscenity and export or import matters. The vast majority of such laws were adopted prior to the advent of the Internet. As a result, they do not contemplate or address the unique issues of the Internet and related technologies. Changes in laws intended to address such issues could create uncertainty in the Internet market. Such uncertainty could reduce demand for our services or increase the cost of doing business as a result of litigation costs or increased service delivery costs. 26 WE MAY FACE POTENTIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE-RELATED LIABILITIES AND EXPENSES. Arrangements with electronic commerce merchants may expose us to legal risks and uncertainties, including potential claims for liabilities to consumers of the products and services offered by these electronic commerce merchants. Although we carry general liability insurance, our insurance may not cover potential claims of this type or may not be adequate to indemnify us for all liability that may be imposed. Some of the risks that may result from these arrangements with businesses engaged in electronic commerce include: - potential claims for liabilities for illegal activities that may be conducted by participating merchants; - product liability or other tort claims relating to goods or services sold through third-party commerce sites; - claims for consumer fraud and false or deceptive advertising or sales practices; - breach of contract claims relating to merchant transactions; - claims that materials included in merchant sites or sold by merchants through these sites infringe third-party patents, copyrights, trademarks or other intellectual property rights, or are libelous, defamatory or in breach of third-party confidentiality or privacy rights; and - claims relating to any failure of merchants to appropriately collect and remit sales or other taxes arising from electronic commerce transactions. Even to the extent that such claims do not result in material liability, investigating and defending such claims could seriously harm our business. For example, investigating and defending any such claims may require significant financial and human resources, may result in negative publicity for our company and injure our business reputation. WE MAY BE UNABLE TO PROTECT OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND WE MAY BE LIABLE FOR INFRINGING UPON THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF OTHERS. Third parties may infringe or misappropriate our patents, trademarks or other proprietary rights, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We have applied for a patent on our "Grammar Template Query System" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We have obtained registered trademark status for "Ask Jeeves" in the United States, Tunisia and Norway. We have also applied for registered trademark status for "Ask.com," "Ask Jeeves for Kids," and our logo and service marks in the United States and various foreign countries. Additionally, in connection with our acquisition of Direct Hit, we received an assignment of one United States patent issued to Gary Culliss, Direct Hit's co-founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman, covering aspects of Direct Hit's technology, and three U.S. patent applications covering other aspects of Direct Hit's technology. We do not know whether we will be able to defend our proprietary rights since the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of proprietary rights in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving. Because we are devoting significant resources to building our brands, primarily "Ask Jeeves" and "Ask.com," through media advertising campaigns, if we are unable to register the trade and service marks for which we have applied, or if we are unable to defend our intellectual property rights, our business may be seriously harmed. In July 1999, IP Learn LLC filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which was amended by the plaintiff, which alleges that aspects of the Ask Jeeves technology infringe one or more patents alleged to be held by the plaintiff. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. Additionally, in December 1999, Patrick H. Winston 27 and Boris Katz filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleges that our technology infringes two patents alleged to be held by the plaintiffs. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. We intend to vigorously defend against the allegations asserted in these complaints and we believe we have meritorious defenses to the claims. The results of any litigation matter are inherently uncertain. In the event of an adverse result in either of these lawsuits, or in any other litigation with third parties that could arise in the future with respect to intellectual property rights relevant to our products or services, we could be required to pay substantial damages, including treble damages if we are held to have willfully infringed, to cease the use of infringing products or services, to expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or to attempt to obtain licenses to the infringing technology on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, litigation frequently involves substantial expenditures and can require significant management attention, even if we ultimately prevail. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that these lawsuits will not materially and adversely affect our business. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us. From time to time in the ordinary course of business we have been subject to claims of alleged infringement of the trademarks and other intellectual property rights of third parties. Any such claims, if made, and any resulting litigation, should it occur, could subject us to significant liability for damages. In addition, even if we prevail, litigation could be time-consuming and expensive to defend, and could result in the diversion of our time and attention. Any claims from third parties may also result in limitations on our ability to use the intellectual property subject to these claims unless we are able to enter into agreements with the third parties making these claims. WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SECURE ADDITIONAL FINANCING TO MEET OUR FUTURE CAPITAL NEEDS. We currently anticipate that our available cash resources will be sufficient to meet our anticipated needs for working capital and capital expenditures for at least twelve months. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet our anticipated needs for working capital and capital expenditures, we will need to raise additional funds to fund brand promotion, develop new or enhanced services, respond to competitive pressures or make acquisitions. We may be unable to obtain any required additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, we may be unable to fund our expansion, successfully promote our brand, develop or enhance services, respond to competitive pressures or take advantage of acquisition opportunities, any of which could seriously harm our business. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution of their ownership interest, and the newly issued securities may have rights superior to those of the common stock. If we raise additional funds by issuing debt, we may be subject to limitations on our operations, including limitations on the payment of dividends. FUTURE SALES OF STOCK COULD AFFECT OUR STOCK PRICE If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of our common stock, including shares issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, in the public market, the market price of our common stock could fall. In particular, in July 2000, the lockup agreement executed by several of our affiliates elapsed. Such stockholders are eligible to sell all vested shares. These sales also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. PROVISIONS IN DELAWARE LAW AND OUR CHARTER, STOCK OPTION AGREEMENTS AND OFFER LETTERS TO EXECUTIVE OFFICERS MAY PREVENT OR DELAY A CHANGE OF CONTROL. We are subject to the Delaware anti-takeover laws regulating corporate takeovers. These anti-takeover laws prevent Delaware corporations from engaging in a merger or sale of more than 10% of its assets with any stockholder, including all affiliates and associates of the stockholder, who owns 28 15% or more of the corporation's outstanding voting stock, for three years following the date that the stockholder acquired 15% or more of the corporation's assets unless: - the board of directors approved the transaction where the stockholder acquired 15% or more of the corporation's assets; - after the transaction where the stockholder acquired 15% or more of the corporation's assets, the stockholder owned at least 85% of the corporation's outstanding voting stock, excluding shares owned by directors, officers and employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held under the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or - on or after this date, the merger or sale is approved by the board of directors and the holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the stockholder. A Delaware corporation may opt out of the Delaware anti-takeover laws if its certificate of incorporation or bylaws so provide. We have not opted out of the provisions of the anti-takeover laws. As such, these laws could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change of control of Ask Jeeves and may discourage attempts by other companies to acquire us. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include a number of provisions that may deter or impede hostile takeovers or changes of control or management. These provisions include: - our board is classified into three classes of directors as nearly equal in size as possible with staggered three year-terms; - the authority of our board to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock and to determine the price, rights, preferences and privileges of these shares, without stockholder approval; - all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and not by written consent; - special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board, the chief executive officer or the board; and - no cumulative voting. These provisions may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that we will indemnify officers and directors against losses that may incur in investigations and legal proceedings resulting from their services to us, which may include services in connection with takeover defense measures. These provisions may have the effect of preventing changes in our management. In addition, our option agreements under the 1996 Stock Option plan provide that if a change of control of Ask Jeeves occurs prior to the first anniversary of the vesting commencement date of an option, then the vesting which would have occurred by such anniversary shall occur. After the first anniversary of the date of grant, these option agreements provide that the vesting of each option shall accelerate by six months upon a change of control. As of September 30, 2000, there were 3,216,496 shares of common stock reserved for unvested options granted under this plan. Furthermore, offer letters with our executive officers provide for the payment of severance and acceleration of options upon the termination of these executive officers following a change of control of Ask Jeeves. These provisions in our stock option agreements and offer letters could have the effect of discouraging potential takeover attempts. 29 OUR STOCK PRICE MAY FLUCTUATE SIGNIFICANTLY REGARDLESS OF OUR ACTUAL OPERATING PERFORMANCE. Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq National Market. The trading price of Ask Jeeves' common stock may be highly volatile. Ask Jeeves' stock price may be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a variety of factors, including: - actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results and announcements of technological innovations; - new products or services offered by Ask Jeeves or its competitors; - changes in financial estimates by securities analysts; - conditions or trends in the Internet services industry and the online customer service segment in particular; - Ask Jeeves' announcement of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; - additions or departures of key personnel; - sales of common stock; and - other events that may be beyond Ask Jeeves' control. In addition, the Nasdaq National Market, where most publicly held Internet companies are traded, has periodically experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. These fluctuations may be unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market and industry factors may materially adversely affect the market price of Ask Jeeves' common stock, regardless of Ask Jeeves' actual operating performance. In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of an individual company's securities, securities class action litigation often has been instituted against that company. This type of litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management's attention and resources. ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK The Company's exposure to market risk for interest rate changes relates primarily to its investment portfolio. The Company had no derivative financial instruments as of September 30, 2000 or December 31, 1999. The Company places its investment portfolio in high credit quality instruments and the amount of credit exposure to any one issue, issuer and type of instrument is limited. The Company does not expect any material loss with respect to its investment portfolio. The Company's investments are principally confined to our cash and cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities, which have short maturities. 30 PART II. OTHER INFORMATION ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS In July 1999, IP Learn LLC filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, which was amended by the plaintiff, which alleges that aspects of the Ask Jeeves technology infringe one or more patents alleged to be held by the plaintiff. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. Additionally, in December 1999, Patrick H. Winston and Boris Katz filed a complaint against us in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint alleges that our technology infringes two patents alleged to be held by the plaintiffs. We have answered the complaint and discovery has begun. We intend to vigorously defend against the allegations asserted in these complaints and we believe we have meritorious defenses to the claims. The results of any litigation matter are inherently uncertain. In the event of an adverse result in either of these lawsuits, or in any other litigation with third parties that could arise in the future with respect to intellectual property rights relevant to our products or services, we could be required to pay substantial damages, including treble damages if we are held to have willfully infringed, to cease the use of infringing products or services, to expend significant resources to develop non-infringing technology or to attempt to obtain licenses to the infringing technology on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, litigation frequently involves substantial expenditures and can require significant management attention, even if we ultimately prevail. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that these lawsuits will not materially and adversely affect our business. ITEM 2. CHANGES IN SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS Not applicable. ITEM 3. DEFAULTS UNDER SENIOR SECURITIES Not applicable. ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS Not applicable. ITEM 5. OTHER INFORMATION Not applicable. ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K a) EXHIBIT 10.1 Lease Agreement between the Company and Oakland City Center LLC, dated May 15, 2000 for the Company's site in Oakland, CA 27.1 Financial Data Schedule b) REPORTS ON FORM 8-K. We filed an amendment dated August 11, 2000 to our Amended Current Report on 8-K/A filed April 11, 2000 to include the Supplemental Consolidated Financial Statements required under the report for our acquisition of Direct Hit Technologies, Inc. 31 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. ASK JEEVES, INC. November 14, 2000 By: /s/ Robert W. Wrubel ------------------------------------------- Robert W. Wrubel CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER (PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER) November 14, 2000 By: /s/ Adam P. Klein ------------------------------------------- Adam P. Klein CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER) November 14, 2000 By: /s/ Christine M. Davis ------------------------------------------- Christine M. Davis VICE PRESIDENT AND CORPORATE CONTROLLER (PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING OFFICER) 32 EXHIBIT INDEX EXHIBIT NUMBER DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION ------- -------------------- 10.1 Lease Agreement between the Company and Oakland City Center LLC, dated May 15, 2000 for the Company's site in Oakland, CA 27.1 Financial Data Schedule 33