Big news yesterday was when Google’s CFO, George Reyes, told investors that growth at the online search leader was slowing. Reyes predicted it will become increasingly difficult for Google to maintain its rapid growth pace. In his own words…
“Most of what’s left is just organic growth, which means you have to find ways to grow your traffic,” Reyes said. “Clearly, our growth rates are slowing, and you see that each and every quarter.”
His comments spooked Wall Street, as Google’s shares plunged by as much as $51.87, or 13%, on the Nasdaq immediately after his comments. The shares wound up shedding $27.76, or 7.1 percent, to close at $362.62
The downturn prompted Google to release a statement assuring investors the company still sees “significant opportunities” for revenue growth.
Tuesday’s harsh backlash reminded investors of the extreme volatility of Google’s stock — an offshoot of the company’s steadfast refusal to make financial projections or share many details about its strategy.
Just to recap: Back in Jan. 31, Google missed earnings estimates for the first time since the company’s IPO. The stock price plunged by as much as 10% before rebounding slightly to close at $401.78, a decline of $30.88, or 7.1%. That was the likely the clear signal that GOOG was now on its way to decline.
Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have vowed not to forecast the company’s earnings because they worry about becoming caught in a trap that will require them to focus on short-term profits at the expense of what’s best for the long haul.
Personally, I think will likely change their policy seeing as their tightlipped approach tends to provoke dramatic reactions to both good news and bad news.
The Big Picture: The stock price is now 15 percent below its record high of $475.11 reached just three weeks ago but the shares remain a golden investment for those who bought at $85 in an August 2004 initial public offering.