Yes. Because the Google part isn't being spun out to the shareholders but remaining a part of the conglomerate, this does nothing for the shareholders. The sea change would be if new-Google were a separate listed company returning its earnings to its shareholders. Instead it's a separate private company returning its earnings to Larry and Sergei to blow on whatever BS they want... just like it was yesterday.

About the only thing this changes is that ex-Google is now explicitly acknowledging to the public markets what everyone already knew: it's a conglomerate, only unlike other conglomerates, it has only a single viable business.

Yawn.

spot on!

> its shareholders

they did nothing to create the algorithm, what right do they have to whine?

Ever hear of work for hire? If you want all the rewards for yourself, you don't sell shares in your company.

There's a pair of stock tickers that disagree with your assessment of the value of selling shares in that company. It seems to have worked out pretty well for everyone involved.

Current sources of value != future sources of value.

The price of Google's stock is based on forward-looking prospects, not on current metrics.

Actually, the price of Google's stock is based on expectations of future demand for Google's stock. It has little or nothing to do with the expectations of profits or the ability of the shareholders to receive them. This is true of all listed companies, and the more liquid their shares, the more true it is.

i m pretty sure its based on expected profits, or it would have flopped given the performance of all these prospects.