That kind of growth is unheard of in most old-school tech companies, particularly one that predates the modern internet by more than a decade. Even more impressive: the Platforms segment grew 44% year over year. The company's third-quarter earnings report shows Aol Platforms, its advertising arm, brought in a whopping $271 million in revenue. And in this sector, Aol has been dominating. The company has wisely taken the cash from its old business and poured it into a new one: digital video advertising. Total subscription revenue accounted for $196.7 million last year, and more than 100% of its operating income (that's because the other sectors of the business are currently losing money).Д«ut Aol's true value isn't in its shrinking subscriber base. Two decades later, Aol technically still makes most of its money from subscribers to its various services, which these days include broadband. How could such a tech dinosaur-an internet bubble clichГ© in so many ways-ever recover? Nine years after their disastrous marriage, Aol was spun off from TimeWarner, and the newly independent company was essentially left for dead. Dial-up gave way to broadband, the company's 'walled garden' model was replaced by an open and vibrant web, and the merger is now widely seen as one of the worst business moves of all time. In 2000, Aol purchased TimeWarner (Money's former parent company) in a $164 billion deal, becoming one of the largest corporations in the world.Д«ut soon after the acquisition, Aol fell behind the times. The company's model seemed flawless: Get paying subscribers in the digital door, then send them to your own media properties. It was also a web 'portal'-an internet directory of sorts-that pointed customers to its other online sites and services. Way back in the early days of the internet, Aol raked in boatloads of money from subscribers to its dial-up internet service. It's hard to blame someone for doubting a business that still makes most of its money from a dwindling pool of subscribers, but Thompson, like most tech observers, likely saw Aol for what it was, not what it is gradually becoming: namely, one of the most powerful players in the digital advertising world. The stock has soared, prompting the Atlantic's Derek Thompson to snark that the big A's success is 'a perfect lesson in why we shouldn't confuse great stocks for great companies.'

In 2013, CEO Tim Armstrong reported the first quarterly revenue growth in almost a decade, and the company recently posted an 18% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Aol? Forget the merger-how does that company still exist?ДЄnd yet, not only is Aol (the company lowercased its initials in 2009, when it was spun off from TimeWarner) still kicking around, it's actually thriving. In 2014, it's got a lot of people scratching their heads. If this were 1998, the news would shake the industry. According to a new report from Reuters, top shareholders are pressuring Yahoo to join with the company formerly known as America Online. For the second time in two months, a Yahoo-Aol merger is in the headlines.

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