$80bn
Google takes top media spot
BBC News - World Edition
June 08, 2005
Internet search phenomenon Google has overtaken
a swathe of venerable rivals to become the world's
biggest media company by stock market value.
After its shares hit an all-time high on the New
York markets on Tuesday, Google is now worth $80bn
(£44bn).
This takes it ahead of media leviathan Time Warner,
which is valued at $78bn.
The valuation comes in spite of the fact that Google's
annual sales total just $3.2bn, a fraction of Time
Warner's $42bn.
Good value?
Some analysts believe Google's shares are now overpriced,
a rerun of the heady valuations seen during the
internet boom of the late 1990s.
Others maintain that Google's high stock value
reflects its future earning potential and that its
shares could go as high as $325-350.
Google has become the world's most highly-valued
media company after only 10 months of trading as
a public company.
It now dwarfs more traditional media companies
such as Viacom and Walt Disney, which have stock
market capitalisations of between $54bn and $55bn.
When it first floated in August last year, its
shares debuted at $85.
Google makes most of its money from the sale of
advertising that sits alongside its search results.
Modest founders
Google was founded in September 1998 by former
Stanford University computer science students Larry
Page and Sergey Brin.
They initially launched the business from a friend's
garage after pulling together $1m from family, friends
and other investors.
Now still in their early 30s and both multi-millionaires,
Mr Page and Mr Brin are said to continue to live
modest lifestyles.
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