Stock price only starts to matter when a company needs access to more cash than it can generate through sales. Google is currently in a position where they can

Stock price only starts to matter when a company needs access to more cash than it can generate through sales. Google is currently in a position where they cannot easily continue to increase sales by spending their (enormous) cash reserves. Letting the stock tank a little now reduces the perceptual gap between stock valuation and actual earnings. If that gap is not reduced stock continues to climb while sales growth remains stagnant with the result that, even when engineering investment starts to reflect in sales, unrealistic growth expectations becomes more and more difficult to maintain. I wouldn't be surprised if Larry Page becomes more communicative when/if he can pull off a Steve Jobs and get Google's product development pipeline to the point where the company can reliably maintain sales growth. Right now, boosting investor confidence can only work against him in the long run.