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Editors' Picks

Would you invest in Google?

Editors' picks

It's just one thing after another in the final run-up to Google's Nasdaq debut: the ill-timed Playboy interview with the co-founders, the SEC's probe into stock options granted to insiders. Now the search giant is letting some of the air out of its IPO valuation, dropping the share price from a high of $135 to between $85 and $95. At the lower price, will you be investing in Google--before or after the IPO? If you have already bid on the shares, email us.
August 18, 2004

Rocky road to the IPO

Once the Internet darling of the post-bubble days, Google has taken some hits in the weeks leading up to its IPO. Its high initial share price raised some eyebrows, but the attitude with which the company's two founders have approached the IPO and the Wall Street community in general may have done more damage. Certainly, a recent SEC filing that stated Google had illegally issued some shares, cast the darkest shadow over the company's path to its market--leading some analysts to wonder whether it would go public at all.

The Inquirer Google drops price range on IPO shares
CNET News.com Google IPO trading imminent
CNET News.com Google revealed in Playboy interview?
TheStreet.com Google IPO an unlikely lifeline for technology
CNN Money Google IPO: Not feeling lucky
CNET News.com Google IPO: No longer a sure thing?
CNET News.com Google may have issued shares illegally
The Motley Fool Yahoo! the first winner in Google IPO
CBS MarketWatch Google IPO loses luster amid Net downturn
Google-IPO.com Google IPO Central
Google Google's IPO page

Google's culture

Google is perhaps as well-known for its off-beat culture as it is for its breakthroughs in search technology. Located in Mountain View, Calif., the Googleplex is legendary for its fun-house-type atmosphere. The celebrity drop-ins, free meals in the cafeteria and biweekly roller hockey games make the Googleplex sound more like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory than a powerhouse of Internet engineers.

CNET News.com Gwyneth, the Grateful Dead and Google
San Jose Mercury News Googlers rest from road show at blowout bash
Wired News Quirky Google culture endangered?
CNET News.com Google recruits eggheads with mystery billboard
CNET News.com Google seeking a few good code jockeys
The New York Times Will Google culture get in the way of its IPO?

Google's business

Founded in 1996 during the dot-com whirlwind, Google managed to zig when others zagged and avoided a blow-out. In fact, its unassuming do-things-differently style has characterized the company's meteoric rise to the top of the search heap. But Google didn't start making real money until it cribbed from the business strategy of commercial search pioneer, Overture Services, formerly GoTo, with its launch of an auction-based, pay-per-click advertising service. It now earns more than $1 billion annually selling marketers little text ads that appear next to search results. What will it think of next to make the next billion?

Wired Magazine Google vs. Evil
Fast Company How Google grows...and grows...and grows
CNET News.com Exposing click fraud
CNET News.com Google?s man behind the curtain
CNET News.com The Google gods
eWeek Google acquires Picasa, fends off competition

The competition

Since Google came along and made millions by improving the Web search equation, new challengers claiming they're the "next Google" have cropped up almost every week. Little fish aside, Google's facing a whale of a fight from Web behemoths Yahoo and Microsoft, which are aggressively trying to turn their millions of visitors into loyalists by improving their search tools. Microsoft probably talks the biggest, threatening to use its dominance in operating systems to make searching the Web, e-mail, office applications and the desktop seamless.

CNN Better search results than Google?
MSN Money Google faces intense competition, big and small
CNET News.com Search upstarts storm Google's gates
Business Week Google: What lies beyond search?
CNET News.com MSN launches revamped search engine
CNET News.com Yahoo?s bid to own search
Newsweek All eyes on Google

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21 comments

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The Time Machine: Would you have invested in an Altavista IPO?

While I really hope that Google's IPO will jump start a lame stock market, at the end of the day they are nothing more then a search engine. And as Altavista proved, it is much too easy to fall from the top of the search engine world, especially when Microsoft and Yahoo are hot on their heals.

Posted by bobtheman22 (21 comments )

August 12, 2004 10:48 AM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Good Point: I spent time trying to justify an investment in Google, but you are right. I used to use AltaVista long ago, and you just never hear about them any more. This is probably the reason that google is trying to expand with free groups, news, froogle, email, etc. But as I understand the primary source of income is still advertising on the search engine.
Posted by David Arbogast (1712 comments ): August 12, 2004 2:10 PM (PDT) Like Link Flag

I agree: Eventhough Google IPO seems promising, it is, as you said, just a search engine. All of us that have been around for a while have seen how altavista went from top to bottom in a relatively short time period. Eventhough search engines are now more mature, and google is at the top introducing new features every once in a while, not everyone is tech savy. many people just use the engine to browse for stuff and are oblivious to all extra features the engine offers. All it takes for google to go down is a better way to search from another company. Then again, that has yet to happen (if it happens). I dont see its stocks as a long-term investment option.
Posted by (1 comment ): August 13, 2004 5:47 AM (PDT) Like Link Flag

Google's IPO: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539029834" target="_newWindow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539029834</a>
Posted by Peter Jankins (10 comments ): June 13, 2007 8:18 PM (PDT) Like Link Flag

Out of my range: I might buy a CPU or a toaster by auction because it's a fixed target. Shooting at a moving target is risky and Google is one fast moving target. Plus the target is out of my range. I'll stick with skeet shooting! I'll bet the Bunnies all have an inside position. Don't get bent over and never get emotional over a stock.
Posted by (7 comments ): August 13, 2004 9:18 AM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Management chops?: Everyone has watched Brin & Page create a great technology and build a company out of nothing. But tech chops are one thing, management execution is another. The sequence of events leading up to this IPO constitutes a three ring circus. I don't know if that's a harbinger but it raises the inevitable question whether these guys have the necessary skills to run a multi-billion dollar business.

Charlie Cooper
CNET News.com
Posted by charlie cooper (261 comments ): August 13, 2004 10:16 AM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Fiasco: When this is all said and done, yahoo will have more power at 384M share ownership, the employees, well not sure what they will get and advertisers and ecommerce will be at the mercy of these guys since there is nothing better out there at the moment.
Posted by (1 comment ): August 13, 2004 12:26 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Google's strategy is to take advantage of rookie investors

Google's strategy seems to be to take advantage of inexperienced investors who can't even read financial statements. Google's going to be doing things reputable companies don't: 1. They're going to auction the stock. 2. They are selling ownership but not control. 3. They act like they are a new company getting started but how much growth can they really have?? Count me out. I'll invest in a real company with a real product and real assets.

Posted by lingsun (478 comments )

August 13, 2004 1:17 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

auction the stock: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539030106" target="_newWindow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539030106</a>
Posted by Peter Jankins (10 comments ): June 13, 2007 8:18 PM (PDT) Like Link Flag

regular people will be lost.: The normal business person will NOT make a dime on this! I don't see an up to any of the google issues. A very big disappointing rollout with all their current mistakes. They have dropped the ball.
Posted by smook (3 comments ): August 13, 2004 6:03 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

GOOGLE SHOT THEMSELVES DOWN!: Google shot themselves in the foot when they decided to set the initial price of shares so high. Rather than let market forces decide the market price, they got greedy and wanted their money up front despite all the weirdness in their IPO announcement about corprate geed!
Posted by (4 comments ): August 15, 2004 1:19 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Ambitious but risky

It's a great step that Google is taking to offer this stock to individuals rather than just the institutions...will be interesting to see if their business model can support a $100+ stock price and a 30+B market cap (do I have that number right???)

Posted by (2 comments )

August 16, 2004 9:07 AM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Yeah...so that'd make their P/E about 130.: Which would be highly speculative for a big, established company with fat earnings like Microsoft, but for a search engine with a number of name brand companies gunning for them? This sure looks like a suicide investment.
Posted by (1 comment ): August 16, 2004 10:13 AM (PDT) Like Link Flag

Only way is down: I think it's a poor investment - and that's not to say there's
anything wrong with their product, which is amazing and really
has changed everything. But what they own is a technique, and
before not too long at all, many others will learn to be able to do
it equally well. Their market share can only go in one direction
- down. I'll use their search only as long as no-one else's is
better....
Posted by maxplanar (5 comments ): August 16, 2004 2:54 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

Fools rush in....: while the Google Twoogle cash out. Smells of stock scam to me.

And remember, no matter how putrid their coffee may be -- lots
of people fork over lots of bucks to sip -- and own -- froo froo
coffee. Obviously PT Barnum was right -- but he guessed waaay
too low on birthrate.
Posted by avfolk--2008 (37 comments ): August 16, 2004 8:37 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

What about Gmail: I am a completely rookie investor and i am mostly into technology that i use frequently and google seems to be the best search engine on the internet as of now. But my questions is what about their new product GMail? Its still in beta stage right now, but it seems like in the future this could really revolutionize the way everyone does EMAIL considering it is completely cost free, offers a gig of storage, and searchable email is a pretty new and original idea. People are acutally paying money for beta accounts of this on ebay and i was just wondering what you pros think of this new gmail idea and what it could potentially do for google and its potential investors?
Posted by (1 comment ): August 17, 2004 1:15 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

First analyze situation with regards to cybercrime.

You have to think hard prior investing in a search engine that's for sure. Especially when you get bombarded by information that altavista's source code was stolen, obviously when something like that happens you can be sure that search engines will continue pop like mushrooms and cybercriminals will become stronger after examining the code.

Posted by (1 comment )

August 18, 2004 4:08 AM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

altavista's source code: <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539148227" target="_newWindow">http://www.flickr.com/photos/nakamichi/539148227</a>
Posted by Peter Jankins (10 comments ): June 13, 2007 8:19 PM (PDT) Like Link Flag

Going Places: Google has impressed me over and over. They are very good at what they do, and continue to enter new markets (ie gmail). I would invest at almost any price. Keep in mind, the IPO is just the begining.
Posted by (1 comment ): August 18, 2004 1:27 PM (PDT) Like Reply Link Flag

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