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Analysis: Google's Page and Wall Street: Who needs who?
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Analysis: Google's Page and Wall Street: Who needs who?
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By Alexei Oreskovic
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It took fewer than 400 words for freshman Google Inc CEO Larry Page to set the tone for a strained relationship with Wall Street that could haunt him for years.
The 38-year-old tech visionary -- who...
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Google co-founder Larry Page is seen at the Sun Valley Inn in Sun Valley, Idaho in this July 8, 2010 file photograph. Google Inc Chief Executive Eric Schmidt will hand over the reins to Page, the company said on January 20, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni/Files
By Alexei Oreskovic
SAN FRANCISCO |
Sun Apr 17, 2011 12:06pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - It took fewer than 400 words for freshman Google Inc CEO Larry Page to set the tone for a strained relationship with Wall Street that could haunt him for years.
The 38-year-old tech visionary -- who with Sergey Brin created the algorithm that today powers the world's most-used search engine -- risks alienating a powerful investor constituency that will be crucial to his efforts to ensure Google remains at the top of its game, say some industry observers.
Investors had hoped to hear Page sketch out his vision during a Thursday post-earnings conference call. Instead, Page came on the line for a few minutes, expressed his optimism in the company, then signed off without entertaining questions on a stunning 54 percent cost spike.
Wall Street promptly responded by selling the stock down more than 8 percent on Friday, wiping out $15 billion in value -- devaluing Page's own holdings in the company -- and setting a record for the biggest single-day decline since December 2008.
Of course, there are plenty of CEOs who do not pander to Wall Street, including Apple Inc's Steve Jobs. But RCM Capital Management portfolio manager Walt Price said even the Silicon Valley icon tackles shareholder concerns head on.
"He hits them head on and he hits them on a competitive basis. He talks about why he's superior to Android and other tablets," Price said. "That's probably a better model than saying I'm enthusiastic about the outlook and departing."
"Maybe (Google) doesn't want to talk about it, but their multiple is going to go down until they do," Price said. "Larry Page's vision would be a good place to start, and I think people are worried that Facebook is a giant sucking sound on the valuation of Google and the future of Google."
The cold shoulder to investors seems in character for Page, who is famously averse to media appearances and has a long-professed commitment to long-term goals rather than to the short-term results Wall Street is known to crave.
The fact that Google generates billions of dollars in cash gives Page a fair degree of independence, since he does not need to raise money on Wall Street, said Daniel Niles, senior portfolio manager of Alpha One Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has a position in Google shares.
Still, as Page seeks to revamp Google and fend off growing threats from Facebook and Apple, critics say he will need to get along better with Wall Street.
In a rare downgrade of Google's stock, Citi analyst Mark Mahaney cited the "token appearance" by Page as being among the negative points from the company's quarter.
"We would have wanted Larry to stick around for Q&A," Mahaney wrote in a note to investors on Friday.
THE PRICE OF IGNORANCE
Ignoring Wall Street exacted an immediate toll on Google's share price, which represents an increasingly important weapon for Google.
"In some sense the stock price determines the morale of the employees. So you do need to care of the stock price or you're going to lose your employees," Price said.
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Comments (1)
RufusDaddy wrote:
Good for Larry Page. I agree that he should not pander to the idiots on Wall Street. They thrive of of making stock prices swing back and forth. Google thrives off its products. I think next time he should do the same and not give these bozos anything.
Apr 18, 2011 1:17am EDT -- Report as abuse
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