The world's largest online company. at more than $700 per share, is now worth more than Warren Buffet's massive investment firm Berkshire-Hathaway. The Web giant's continued growth is staggering,
considering that the company went public just three years ago at $89 per share. The company's share price this year has surged 54% from $460.48 at the end of 2006.
In the last
six-and-a-half weeks, the company has tacked on an additional $55 billion to its market cap, which now stands at around $220 billion, beyond Warren Buffet's investment empire and approaching that of
Microsoft. Like Buffet's Berkshire-Hathaway, Google refuses to split its stock to attract more investors, sharing in the belief that a high stock price tends to attract knowledgeable, long-term
investors. In four decades, Berkshire-Hathaway's stock never split, leaving the value of its Class A shares at $132,500.
The massive valuation indicates that Wall Street
believes Google is still in its financial infancy, with plenty of room to grow. The company is set to earn $5 billion this year on revenue of $15 billion. The latest stock surge came following the
announcement of OpenSocial, Google's new foray into social media, and further revelations of its plan to develop mobile wireless software.
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