acquired 207 stations, creating the first mid-size market radio conglomerate. Following the company's IPO, its stock fell from $14 to $8 per share on October 2, 1998 before beginning a climb to close 1999 at $50.75. Some radio executives familiar with small markets thought that Cumulus was overpaying to buy top stations in markets that did not have a great upside potential. For 1998, Cumulus reported revenue of $98.8 million, with broadcast cash flow of $26.6 million. Its cash-flow margin reached 27 percent. For 1999, Cumulus reported $180 million in revenue and $46.7 million broadcast cash flow. On November 19, 1999, Cumulus sold an additional 10 million shares at $24.93, raising $250 million. Acquisitions continued at an accelerating pace. At this point, the company owned or operated pending closing 246 stations in 45 markets. In a period of two years and six months, Cumulus became the second largest U.S. broadcasting group in terms of stations operated. It also raised a staggering $1.3 billion when considering sales of common and preferred stock shares, senior bank lines of credit, and senior subordinated debt or junk bonds which when issued were rated CCC+. The stock market acknowledged the remarkable growth with a share price that rose to a high of $51.00 on December 31, 1999. Challenges in 2000 Cumulus was a part-time participant in the euphoria of the dot-com bubble and was impacted by the hysteria that followed its burst. The reasons included very rapid growth and skyrocketing share price which in the euphoria period fed on itself. The hysteria which followed was driven by both the absence of earnings and rumors which suggested the rapid growth might be false. The first quarter of 2000 proved to be troubling at Cumulus. A perfect storm of events drove the company's share price from $50 to $13 between January 1 and March 17 when over 30 million shares traded hands. Driving the decline was persistent rumours of possible accounting irregularities in the rapidly assembled radio group. On January 14 respected Wall Street analyst Frank Bodenchak advised institutional clients that Cumulus may miss his estimates for Q4 1999 and the year. A combination of the possible earnings miss and the rumours of accounting problems created a significant loss of investor confidence. On March 17, Cumulus reported a loss of $0.20 per share vs $0.15 per share expectation. Broadcast cash flow was $12.3 million vs estimates around