Surya Yalamanchili

Google: Caveat Emptor

During the YouTube acquisition/earnings call, I very clearly recollect Google announcing that they will make future acquisitions with Cash and NOT stock. Saying that YouTube was basically the last mostly stock transaction. This is a contra-indicator to your thesis.

P/E Ratio and Future Earnings Make Google a Buy

At a 47 PE, you would think the market is expecting them to grow in the 20-25% a year range. I don't think that's an insane number...

My Maps: Is Google Pulling a Microsoft?

And, if I could add. I'm not at all sure where GOOG lies on the map here. I just wanted to point out the spectrum exists!

(I'm long GOOG, and MSFT (though I give serious consideration to selling MSFT every day).)

My Maps: Is Google Pulling a Microsoft?

You have a great point.

I would add one clarification.

It's a spectrum, right?

On the far right, you have perceived MSFT-like behavior: let other companies do all the hardwork and once they figure out and it's a viable market, come in and integrate to take all their share based on their work.

On the far left, you have something totally harmless. As you develop the initial product that others will build off of, you have a number of great ideas for more features, etc. But as a team you decide on what's core to get out first, and what you want to work on. Just because someone else built off the API immediately doesn't mean that if you, as the original product developer, come out with that feature later, are stealing from them. This could have been part of the initial feature roll-out plan from the beginning. It's just that to the market, it looks like you're skimming off the best ideas to take as your own. But if it's true that the best ideas are often the most obvious, it's certainly possible they were obviously possible to the original development team at inception as well.

It's all a question of intent to me.

Great post!