Hershey Ipo
In 1997, Google, a play on the word googol, was born. Google is an internet information provider. Larry
August 18, 2004, Google had its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 19,605,052 shares of Class A stock; the ticker symbol on NASDAQ is GOOG. The opening price of the stock in 2004 was $85 per share, according to the Google company profile. On its first day, Google closed at $100 per share. NASDAQ lists the 52-weeks high of GOOG at $670.25. Google stock peaked at just over $700 per share in 2007.
Google generates majority of its revenue through its AdWorks online advertising, as stated in the SEC Annual Report. In assessing the financial performance of a company, investors are interested in the core or sustainable earnings of a company. In addition, investors are interested in making comparisons of varying SEC filings. There are three types of comparisons to improve the decision usefulness of financial information; intracompany basis, intercompany basis and industry averages.
Intracompany basis, comparisons within a company, is often useful to detect changes in financial relationships and significant trends. A comparison of Googles current year cash amount with the prior year cash amount shows an increase. Likewise, a comparison of Googles year-end cash amount with the amount of its total assets at year-end shows the proportion of total assets in the forms of cash.
Intercompany basis, comparisons with other companies, provides insight into a companys competitive position. Investors can compare Google sales for the year with the total sales of its competitors.
Industry averages, comparisons with industry averages, provide information about a companys relative positions with the industry. Financial statement readers can compare Google financial data with the average for its industry compiled by financial ratings organizations such as Dun & Bradstreet, Moodys and Standard & Poors or with information provided on the Companys financial website.
To analyze financial statements and the significance of the data, three methods of analyses are used: horizontal, vertical and ratio. Horizontal analysis, also known as trend analysis, is a technique for evaluating a series of financial statement data over a period