<PAGE>
 
                      STOCKHOLDER RETURN PERFORMANCE GRAPH
 
     The Commission requires a five-year comparison of the cumulative total
return of the Company's Common Stock with that of (1) a broad equity market
index and (2) a published industry or line-of-business index, or index of peer
companies with similar market capitalization. Pursuant to the Commission's
rules, the graph presented below includes comparisons of the performance (on a
cumulative total return basis) of the Company's Common Stock with the S&P
SmallCap 600 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Diversified Index. The stock
price performance shown on the graph is not necessarily indicative of future
price performance.
 
     The Stock Performance Graph shall not be deemed incorporated by reference
by any general statement incorporating by reference the Proxy Statement into any
filing under the Securities Act of 1933 or under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, except to the extent that the Company specifically incorporates this
document by reference and shall not otherwise be deemed filed.
 
                COMPARISON OF 63 MONTH CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
                           AMONG ZAPATA CORPORATION,
                 THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL -- DIVERSIFIED INDEX
                         AND THE S&P SMALLCAP 600 INDEX
 

<Table>
<Caption>
                                                             CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN
           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        9/96      9/97      9/98      12/98     12/99     12/00     12/01
           -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           <S>                         <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>       <C>
            Zapata Corporation         100.00    202.41    278.70    352.42    133.06     44.97     83.43
            Dow Jones
              Industrial-Diversified   100.00    136.97    115.95    136.35    153.26    171.35    206.28
            S&P SmallCap 600           100.00    145.51    154.45    195.27    264.54    266.44    239.54
</Table>

 
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* $100 invested on 9/30/96 in stock or index -- including reinvestment of
  dividends.
                                       A-13