Google Will Eat Itself • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#51

Post by Cthulhu_ » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 9:48 PM UTC

vesinisa wrote: post #43

YZF wrote: post #4

I thought the share class structuring of Google was such that you can never own Google by buying its publicly traded shares?

Can someone then explain to a layman, why Google shares even have any value? What good is a share, if it's voting power in controlling the company is practically void? Google has never paid any dividend either. Are all the stock investors just speculating that GOOG will pay dividend in the future? Or is it possible that Class B shares will loose their special voting rights at some point so that Class A become instrum…

Well if you take away dividends and voting rights, what remains? I can think of two things:

One, money for Google, at least when they were distributed shares (I don't know if they distribute more from time to time).

Two, a tradeable product. Price determined by supply and demand, supply / demand generated by people wanting to bet the price goes up and people cashing in. Think Bitcoins.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#52

Post by maaaats » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 9:49 PM UTC

heinz wrote: post #50

woah wrote: post #13

FYI, in many European countries periods and commas in numbers are the reverse of how we use them in English- 405.413,19 is actually 405,413.19

No shit, Sherlock?!

Thanks for your contribution..

This , vs . is often a problem, because my bank will issue tables with , used as decimal separator, but copying that into some tool everything breaks because it expects . to be used.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#53

Post by markmassie » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:03 PM UTC

pdkl95 wrote: post #41

"No return, no make amends Is this the future or this is how it will end?" /everything's cool

I see what you did there.

http://www.lyrics.net/lyric/29594334

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#54

Post by martin_ » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:08 PM UTC

Spone wrote: post #39

rgbrenner wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right.. Class A is traded publicly. Class B is what's owned by Sergey and Brin, and it has 10 votes per share (vs 1 vote per share for Class A), and allows them to outvote all Class A shares.

Sergey and Brin or Larry and Page? ;)

Haha. To clarify, It's Sergey Brin AND Larry Page the OP was referring to.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#55

Post by Bud » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:15 PM UTC

Now, let's stop telling Google it's going to eat itself. You're going to give it a googleplex.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#56

Post by sysoppai » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:26 PM UTC

What a retro look, I dig it. As for the actual content, whatever.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#57

Post by judk » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:34 PM UTC

vesinisa wrote: post #43

YZF wrote: post #4

I thought the share class structuring of Google was such that you can never own Google by buying its publicly traded shares?

Can someone then explain to a layman, why Google shares even have any value? What good is a share, if it's voting power in controlling the company is practically void? Google has never paid any dividend either. Are all the stock investors just speculating that GOOG will pay dividend in the future? Or is it possible that Class B shares will loose their special voting rights at some point so that Class A become instrum…

Like Apple, Google may eventually earn more that it can spend/invest, and then pay a dividend, or be bought back by Google corp.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#58

Post by PhasmaFelis » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:42 PM UTC

vesinisa wrote: post #43

YZF wrote: post #4

I thought the share class structuring of Google was such that you can never own Google by buying its publicly traded shares?

Can someone then explain to a layman, why Google shares even have any value? What good is a share, if it's voting power in controlling the company is practically void? Google has never paid any dividend either. Are all the stock investors just speculating that GOOG will pay dividend in the future? Or is it possible that Class B shares will loose their special voting rights at some point so that Class A become instrum…

As with every company that maintains 51% private ownership, they have value because in the future someone might buy them from you for more than what you paid for them.

Or, to put it another way, they have value because people will pay for them, and people will pay for them because they have value. Isn't finance ridiculous?

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#59

Post by thearn4 » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:43 PM UTC

vesinisa wrote: post #43

YZF wrote: post #4

I thought the share class structuring of Google was such that you can never own Google by buying its publicly traded shares?

Can someone then explain to a layman, why Google shares even have any value? What good is a share, if it's voting power in controlling the company is practically void? Google has never paid any dividend either. Are all the stock investors just speculating that GOOG will pay dividend in the future? Or is it possible that Class B shares will loose their special voting rights at some point so that Class A become instrum…

I guess it would still have value for those who want to go long, and sell at a higher stock price.

Re: Google Will Eat Itself

#60

Post by omni_ » Sun, Mar 16, 2014, 10:46 PM UTC

That background is incredibly distracting.