4 ms·

I agree. Let's point out that none of these divestitures or strategic allocation decisions would happen without Larry or Sergey. As you allude, Google's abili

I agree. Let's point out that none of these divestitures or strategic allocation decisions would happen without Larry or Sergey. As you allude, Google's ability to deliver depends on the share price. While they are free from activist shareholders, they aren't free from competition for talent. A rising stock price keeps employees happy. Employees with lots of out of the money options get jealous when their friends experience IPOs.

greiskul 11y ago
Google employees don't get stock options anymore, but "Google Stock Units": https://www.quora.com/What-are-Google-Stock-Units-for-new-hires https://www.quora.com/What-are-Google-Stock-Units-for-new-hi... So although the stock price rising makes everybody happier, there is no such problem of out of the money stocks.
- dastbe 11y ago
  For the rest of the world, we just call them Reserved Stock Units. The OPs point still stands regardless; unless for whatever reason you think you'll get 1) a windfall of stock grants that are 2) calculate from some actual monetary amount divided by the current stock price, you want the value of your stock to go up.
  - refurb 11y ago
    Reserved stock unit? Do you mean restricted stock unit? RSU?
    - dekhn 11y ago
      Yes, google GSUs = RSUs.
    - chii 11y ago
      what exactly is RSU? What's the difference between it, and stock you buy from a broker on the market?
      - refurb 11y ago
        An RSU is like an option with a strike price of $0. You receive the option to puchase stock (with vesting). This is in contrast to actually purchasing a stock on the market.
        chii 11y ago
        > to purchase stock [via] vesting So when the rsu has vested, it is converted to normal stock, where you can sell on the market for cash?
        benlangmuir 11y ago
        Yes. It's just stock on a vesting schedule.
        brandmeyer 11y ago
        > converted to normal stock, where you can sell on the market for cash? With the smaller Google-specific "well but" limit that insider trading rules restrict employees from trading in the company stock except for narrow trading windows after the company's quarterly reports.
        kyrra 11y ago
        You can sell during blackout periods if you file a 10b5-1 plan a few months (year?) in advance. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rule-10b5-1.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rule-10b5-1.asp
    - dastbe 11y ago
      Yes, thanks. Brainfart.
- mathattack 11y ago
  Interesting. This mitigates the problem somewhat (by making it not binary) but not entirely.
CamperBob2 11y ago
As you allude, Google's ability to deliver depends on the share price. While they are free from activist shareholders, they aren't free from competition for talent. Starting up interesting long-term projects and then canning them at the first sign of a cloudy quarterly forecast is not how you compete for top talent. It just makes the entire company look spastic and irresolute. Google/Alphabet is in a good position to build the next Bell Labs. Instead, they're building the next Lucent. That's a bummer.

greiskul 11y ago

Google employees don't get stock options anymore, but "Google Stock Units": https://www.quora.com/What-are-Google-Stock-Units-for-new-hires https://www.quora.com/What-are-Google-Stock-Units-for-new-hi... So although the stock price rising makes everybody happier, there is no such problem of out of the money stocks.

dastbe 11y ago
For the rest of the world, we just call them Reserved Stock Units. The OPs point still stands regardless; unless for whatever reason you think you'll get 1) a windfall of stock grants that are 2) calculate from some actual monetary amount divided by the current stock price, you want the value of your stock to go up.
- refurb 11y ago
  Reserved stock unit? Do you mean restricted stock unit? RSU?
  - dekhn 11y ago
    Yes, google GSUs = RSUs.
  - chii 11y ago
    what exactly is RSU? What's the difference between it, and stock you buy from a broker on the market?
    - refurb 11y ago
      An RSU is like an option with a strike price of $0. You receive the option to puchase stock (with vesting). This is in contrast to actually purchasing a stock on the market.
      - chii 11y ago
        > to purchase stock [via] vesting So when the rsu has vested, it is converted to normal stock, where you can sell on the market for cash?
        benlangmuir 11y ago
        Yes. It's just stock on a vesting schedule.
        brandmeyer 11y ago
        > converted to normal stock, where you can sell on the market for cash? With the smaller Google-specific "well but" limit that insider trading rules restrict employees from trading in the company stock except for narrow trading windows after the company's quarterly reports.
        kyrra 11y ago
        You can sell during blackout periods if you file a 10b5-1 plan a few months (year?) in advance. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rule-10b5-1.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rule-10b5-1.asp
  - dastbe 11y ago
    Yes, thanks. Brainfart.
mathattack 11y ago
Interesting. This mitigates the problem somewhat (by making it not binary) but not entirely.

CamperBob2 11y ago

As you allude, Google's ability to deliver depends on the share price. While they are free from activist shareholders, they aren't free from competition for talent. Starting up interesting long-term projects and then canning them at the first sign of a cloudy quarterly forecast is not how you compete for top talent. It just makes the entire company look spastic and irresolute. Google/Alphabet is in a good position to build the next Bell Labs. Instead, they're building the next Lucent. That's a bummer.