Google Synopsis

Synopsis: Google Inc.

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google maintains an index of websites and other content, and makes this information freely available to anyone with an Internet connection. Its automated search technology enables people to obtain nearly instant access to relevant information from its online index. The company's innovations in web search and advertising have made its web site a top internet destination and its brand one of the most recognized in the world. The company, primarily, operates in the US. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California and employs approximately 10,700 people. The company recorded revenues of $10,604.9 million during the fiscal year ended December 2006, an increase of 72.8% over 2005. The operating profit of the company was $3,550 million during fiscal year 2006, an increase of 76% over 2005. The net profit was $3,077.4 million in fiscal year 2006, as compared to $1,465.4 million in 2005.

Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. It specializes in internet search engines and related advertising services. While the company is largely known for its search engine, its lesser known services include Froogle (comparison shopping services), Google Images (online image library), Google news (news feeds) and Google Finance (financial news and information) among others. Google is the leading search engine in the world. Google is now available in 158 domains and more than 100 languages. However, intense competition from Microsoft and Yahoo could negatively impact its revenue growth.

Google is the leading search engine in the world. The company offers search results in 158 domains and in more than 100 languages. In March 2007, Google sites captured 48.3% of the US search market, gaining 0.2 share points from the previous month.Yahoo! Sites maintained its second place ranking with 27.5% of US searches, followed by Microsoft sites (10.9%), Ask Network (5.2%) and Time Warner Network (5%). Google is also the leading search engine in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK (based on total number of unique visitors).

Furthermore, strong market position has helped Google become one of the premier internet brands in the world. According to market research firm Miillward Brown, Google is the world's top ranked brand, overtaking Microsoft and some other well-established brands like General Electric Company, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart Stores and IBM. In 2006, BusinessWeek and Interbrand placed Google in the 24th position in their Top 100 Global Brands ranking. The Google brand was valued at $12,376 million in 2006.

Nayantara (2005)

The performance of Google, which debuted using the online auction process in August, 2004, does not suggest that the online auction process served as an efficient pricing mechanism since it did not minimize Google's first day price surge. Google's offer price was $85, and it opened at $100--reflecting an 18 percent increase. This increase between the offer price and the open price is much greater than the increase for typical IPOs in 2004, as is evident in Table 2. Indeed, 82 percent of the IPOs issued in 2004 experienced less of a jump