Google's latest goof: Shares plunge

[Farid]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/07/technology/google/index.htm?section=money_technology

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Search engine Google disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Tuesday that statements about sales projections were inadvertently posted on the company's Investor Relations Web site during its analyst day presentation on March 2.

The company said in the filing that slides showing that Google expected revenue to grow from $6 billion in 2005 to $9.5 billion this year and that profit margins in its AdSense business would "be squeezed in 2006 and beyond" were part of notes prepared during the fourth quarter of 2005 for an internal strategy presentation and were erroneously included in a slide accompanying the analyst day Webcast.

Google added that the sales figures should not be construed as financial guidance and that comments about profit margins do not "reflect Google's current expectations."

The company's disclosure snafu is the latest in a series of problems that the company has had communicating with Wall Street. Shares plunged last week after chief financial officer George Reyes said in a presentation at a Merrill Lynch Internet conference that growth in the company's core business of search-based advertising was starting to slow. The company later clarified that statement to say that it still saw "significant opportunities" for revenue growth.

...

One analyst called Google's slide goof a "boo-boo" but added that it was not something that would have a major impact on the company going forward.

"It's a standard mistake made by a company that's newly public, but because it's Google, of course everything is magnified," said John Tinker, an analyst with ThinkEquity Partners. "The company is on a learning curve and they are beginning to realize they are not operating under the radar anymore."

Still, Google's mishap comes at an inopportune time for the company. Google's stock has tumbled more than 15 percent since the company reported fourth quarter earnings in late January that were below analyst expectations. Shares now trade at nearly 25 percent below their all-time high from early January.

The company sought to reassure investors and analysts during its presentation last week that it still saw healthy growth opportunities in search and that it was also looking to expand into new areas of online advertising as well as other aspects of the traditional media business.

Nonetheless, investors are worried about increased competition that Google is facing from the likes of Yahoo! (Research), Microsoft's (Research) MSN and the revamped Ask.com, owned by IAC/InterActive (Research). Analysts have also expressed concerns about how much Google's capital expenditures for 2006. The company has said that it plans to invest heavily this year in order to roll out new products and services and that has some investors worried about the impact this spending will have on profits.

 

[Diplo]

More interesting were the plans for Google to take over the world, revealed in the slide show:

Web giant Google is planning a massive online storage facility to encompass all users' files, it is reported.

The plans were allegedly revealed accidentally after a blogger spotted notes in a slideshow presentation wrongly published on Google's site.

The GDrive, previously the subject of chatroom rumour, would offer a mirror of users' hard drives, Reuters said.

Google declined to comment on the reports but said the slide notes had now been deleted.

In the notes, chief executive Eric Schmidt reportedly said Google's aim was to "store 100%" of users' information.

The notes said: "With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including e-mails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc; and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc)." - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4782108.stm

If Larry Page and Sergey Brin aren't reptiles from another dimension intent on enslaving mankind in some kind of giant Matrix, then I'm Bill Gates...