Google Chief Financial Officer George Reyes told the Merrill Lynch Internet Advertising Information & Education Conference today that his company’s “growth is slowing and [is] now largely organic.”
Now “organic” in Google’s case may appear as unfettered pullulation to most other companies, but having largely maxed out paid search advertising, Reyes said that the company would have to find new ways to grow revenues.
[ADBLOCKHERE]On the news, Google shares dropped from $390 down to $340 this morning in under 15 minutes before rallying to close at $363.Google once again appeared almost human: similar to the blow its shares took in January over “disappointing” fourth quarter profits, which merely grew 82% over the year before to $372.2 million, failing to meet Wall Street forecasts.
“Google is taking a shaky market down. It’s the other shoe to drop,” Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at The Boston Company Asset Management, told the BBC. “It’s been a stellar performer and a leader,” he added. “This is kind of new territory for them being this cautious.”
Is it tulip time? Many analysts think so, believing the search monster’s extraordinarily high valuation cannot be sustained. See Daniel Harrison’s thoughts on Google’s situation here.