Google recently made headlines when its stock went over $500 per share. This makes Google the 15th largest company in terms of market capitalization (determined by taking the number of shares outstanding and multiplying it by the share price; the basic measurement for how the world values any given company). See the “Googometer” below for how Google compares to other top companies valued just below or above it.
But such a high growth and valuation comes with costs of a different nature. See Did Microsoft & Good Switch Places? for why the company that once stuck it to “the man” is becoming the man itself. Or check out Google’s Growth Forces Adjustment in Hiring Process for a look into the tediousness of getting a job at the search-engine giant.
Some are even calling Google the “Government of the Internet.” Not only that, Google has gathered so much cash that it runs the risk of being mistaken for an investment fund, asking the Securities
and Exchange Commission to exempt it from regulations.
Don’t get me wrong, I love and use Google like the rest of us. And I actually think it’s doing a pretty good job of not being “evil” considering the circumstances… It’s just interesting to watch the natural consequences of such tremendous growth.
