Google Inc. (GOOG, Financial) is the biggest gun in the arsenal of search engines and a formidable software provider that has never been afraid to test new waters. The risk-taking marketing strategy of Google has contributed to massive growth in a short period of time. Currently Google stocks are priced at $564.51 which is comparable to its arch nemesis Apple’s $574 per stock (AAPL, Financial). Apple has a net market worth of $536.85 billion which looks huge when compared to Google Inc.’s market cap of $184 billion, but Google has shown enormous expansion despite being new, and so far there is no stopping it.
There is no argument on the strong footing Google has in the search engine business and online advertising. Google’s AdWords is the major profit making machinery of the company. It is the key shareholder in this industry where it has amassed 81.7% of the market. Its competitors Yahoo! and AOL are lagging far behind and it seems unlikely they will be catching up any time soon.
Google has not stopped with its profitable search engine; it has diversified extensively in almost all the realms of technology. The company made waves in social networking, navigation, browsing, mobile operating systems, blogging and many other avenues. Google’s Android operating system has become an intimidating competitor to Apple’s mobile operating system, which was the sole contender in this business for a long time. Google also announced in the past year that it is gearing up to provide top-notch Internet networking and has made Kansas City its site for beta testing of this service. Here again it looks like Google will have to compete with Apple, which has similar plans for dominating the air waves.
Although the recent announcement by Apple, where they unveiled their own version of maps at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, has raised speculation about the productivity of the previously popular Google Maps, it remains to be seen whether it will turn away the revenues that the company generates with its mobile ads that are coupled to the maps. It is not just Apple that is making significant changes: Google itself has focused on putting up a strong contest for Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) by amassing and designing competing software against the Microsoft Office package. From Google Docs to Google Drive, the company is focused on setting up a fail-safe storage for all kinds of documents, and this pitches some serious competition for Microsoft Office.
Google is also revamping its mobile technology with recent acquisitions like Quickoffice, which has been used for word processing applications in Symbian mobile devices previously and Meebo, which is a social-media platform that connects users. While the purchase of Quickoffice is set to deter Microsoft, Meebo is meant to compete with Facebook (FB).
In 2011, Google Inc. bought over 26 companies which speaks volumes of the company’s expansion policy. In a bid to expand on the Android market, Google bought Motorola Mobility (MMI) with $12.5 billion, which makes it one of its most expensive assets so far. The collapse of Nokia (NOK), which was once the only major shareholder in the business of mobile technology, is attributed to the iPhone invasion by Apple. Whatever was left of Nokia was swept away by Google’s Android operating system for mobiles. As Microsoft mobile Windows was integrated in Nokia cell phones, now it is not just Nokia which is tending to its wounds and undergoing massive cut-downs and lay-offs, but Microsoft, also, is spiraling down along with Nokia in the business of mobile operating systems.
Google has a long way to go to compete with the market capitalization of Apple, but things are not slowing down for this IT giant. The company grossed $37.9 billion in 2011 which amounts to 30% yearly increase. In my line of thought, there will be an increase of 21.60% in earnings in 2012 and another 19.20% in 2013. Moreover, Google has also been awarded the top spot by Fortune magazine in its list of 100 best places to work. Google is a volatile investment, where shareholders have to stick to their stocks and master the anxiety that springs from the dips in percentages. In the long run, this risk will be paid off in terms of great profits.
There is no argument on the strong footing Google has in the search engine business and online advertising. Google’s AdWords is the major profit making machinery of the company. It is the key shareholder in this industry where it has amassed 81.7% of the market. Its competitors Yahoo! and AOL are lagging far behind and it seems unlikely they will be catching up any time soon.
Google has not stopped with its profitable search engine; it has diversified extensively in almost all the realms of technology. The company made waves in social networking, navigation, browsing, mobile operating systems, blogging and many other avenues. Google’s Android operating system has become an intimidating competitor to Apple’s mobile operating system, which was the sole contender in this business for a long time. Google also announced in the past year that it is gearing up to provide top-notch Internet networking and has made Kansas City its site for beta testing of this service. Here again it looks like Google will have to compete with Apple, which has similar plans for dominating the air waves.
Although the recent announcement by Apple, where they unveiled their own version of maps at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, has raised speculation about the productivity of the previously popular Google Maps, it remains to be seen whether it will turn away the revenues that the company generates with its mobile ads that are coupled to the maps. It is not just Apple that is making significant changes: Google itself has focused on putting up a strong contest for Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) by amassing and designing competing software against the Microsoft Office package. From Google Docs to Google Drive, the company is focused on setting up a fail-safe storage for all kinds of documents, and this pitches some serious competition for Microsoft Office.
Google is also revamping its mobile technology with recent acquisitions like Quickoffice, which has been used for word processing applications in Symbian mobile devices previously and Meebo, which is a social-media platform that connects users. While the purchase of Quickoffice is set to deter Microsoft, Meebo is meant to compete with Facebook (FB).
In 2011, Google Inc. bought over 26 companies which speaks volumes of the company’s expansion policy. In a bid to expand on the Android market, Google bought Motorola Mobility (MMI) with $12.5 billion, which makes it one of its most expensive assets so far. The collapse of Nokia (NOK), which was once the only major shareholder in the business of mobile technology, is attributed to the iPhone invasion by Apple. Whatever was left of Nokia was swept away by Google’s Android operating system for mobiles. As Microsoft mobile Windows was integrated in Nokia cell phones, now it is not just Nokia which is tending to its wounds and undergoing massive cut-downs and lay-offs, but Microsoft, also, is spiraling down along with Nokia in the business of mobile operating systems.
Google has a long way to go to compete with the market capitalization of Apple, but things are not slowing down for this IT giant. The company grossed $37.9 billion in 2011 which amounts to 30% yearly increase. In my line of thought, there will be an increase of 21.60% in earnings in 2012 and another 19.20% in 2013. Moreover, Google has also been awarded the top spot by Fortune magazine in its list of 100 best places to work. Google is a volatile investment, where shareholders have to stick to their stocks and master the anxiety that springs from the dips in percentages. In the long run, this risk will be paid off in terms of great profits.
