????畢竟，Kayak看來還處于上升通道中，這是投資者都樂于看到的。Kayak提交給美國證券交易委員會（Securities and Exchange Commission）的IPO文件顯示，2012年第一個日歷季度實現收入7,330萬美元，較上年同期的5,270萬美元增長39%。在最近一個季度，實現利潤415萬美元（合每股11美分），而上年同期虧損691萬美元（合每股1.33美元），今年已一舉扭虧為盈。

????與之形成對比的是Facebook在路演中對投資者宣稱，第一季度由于收入增長放緩，利潤下降。在IPO前聽到這樣的消息，讓投資者很不愉快。

????Kayak網站的瀏覽量也在增長。IPO文件顯示，最近季度，Kayak網站和移動應用的旅游信息搜索量為3.10億次，較去年同期的2.14億次激增45%。

????不同于Expedia、Orbitz、Priceline和Travelocity，Kayak網站上不賣機票，也不預訂酒店。它為旅游者提供一站式服務，展示其他網站提供的各類產品，用戶可通過鏈接直接向報價公司購買。當人們點擊這些鏈接時，Kayak就能獲得收入。另外，它還有網絡廣告收入。

????不過，巴德說，Kayak推遲IPO是明智之舉，因為在當前環境下不太可能獲得應有的估值。“Facebook已經觸怒了投資者——沒人想買一開始就虧錢的新股。”巴德說，“總體來看，IPO估值通常較市價有折讓——比如10-15%——但在當前環境下，可能至少要折讓30-40%。”

????但是，Kayak也不是沒有風險。分析師們表示，雖然這家旅游網站當前的財務狀況看上去一片光明，但中長期前景不那么確定。晨星分析師蘇丹表示，Kayak高度依賴ITA Software來為用戶提供機票信息，這蘊藏著風險。

????2011年谷歌（Google）已以7億美元買下ITA，目前還不清楚這會對2016年Kayak的ITA許可協議到期后產生怎樣的影響。Kayak在提交的一份文件中稱，“喪失ITA使用權，軟件不能升級或者使用ITA軟件的成本上升，都可能帶來顯著的負面影響，”可能影響到Kayak搜索結果的質量和速度，影響到Kayak的收入和營運業績。

????競爭也很激烈。谷歌收購ITA后推出了同Kayak競爭的酒店和航班搜索工具及服務。微軟（Microsoft）的必應旅行（Bing Travel）和Superfly也想分一塊蛋糕。（Kayak首席財務官比爾?史密斯最近離職，加盟Superfly。“IPO之前首席財務官離職令人擔憂，”巴德說。）

????After all, Kayak appears to be on a growth trajectory, something investors tend to like. Kayak's revenue rose 39% to $73.3 milllion in the first calendar quarter of 2012, from $52.7 million during the same period a year ago, according to the company's IPO filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It also generated a profit of $4.15 million, or 11 cents a share, in the latest quarter, reversing a loss of $6.91 million, or $1.33 a share, a year earlier.

????By contrast, Facebook told investors during its roadshow that its first quarter profit declined on slowing revenue growth, which soured investors as the IPO date drew near.

????Traffic to Kayak is also on the upswing. The number of requests for travel information through Kayak's website and mobile application shot up 45% to 310 million in the latest quarter from 214 million during the same period a year ago, the filing said.

????Different from websites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline and Travelocity, Kayak doesn't sell airline tickets and hotel bookings on its site. Instead, it displays all of the options other sites offer for travelers in one place, and then provides a link for the person to make the purchase directly from the company offering that rate. It gets paid when people book using the link. It also gets revenue from online ads.

????However, Bard says Kayak was wise to delay its IPO as it's unlikely it would have gotten the valuation it deserved had it pushed ahead in the current climate. "Facebook has angered investors -- nobody wants to buy into an IPO that loses money right off the start," says Bard. "In general IPOs get priced at a discount to the market – say 10% to 15% - but in the current situation it would have to be at least a 30% to 40% discount."

????Still, Kayak isn't without risk. While the travel site's current financial picture looks bright, its longer-term outlook is less certain, analysts say. Its heavy reliance on ITA Software, which provides airline fare information to people using the Kayak site, is a risk, says Morningstar's Su.

????Google (GOOG) purchased ITA in a $700 million deal in 2011, and it's not known how this will affect Kayak when its licensing agreement with ITA expires in October 2016. "A loss of access to ITA's software or enhancements or improvements to the software or an adverse change in our costs associated with use of the ITA software, could have a significant negative effect" on the quality and speed of search results and on Kayak's revenue and operating results, the company said in a filing.

????Competition is also a brisk. After acquiring ITA, Google launched hotel and flight search tools and services that compete with Kayak. Hipmunk, Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing Travel and Superfly all want a piece of the pie as well. (Kayak chief financial officer Bill Smith recently left Kayak to joint Superfly. "It's cause for concern when a CFO leaves ahead of an IPO," says Bard).