I think the argument is that Microsoft, HP, and IBM's revenues aren't as dependent on their brand. If Microsoft changed their name to "Bill's Awesome Software C

I think the argument is that Microsoft, HP, and IBM's revenues aren't as dependent on their brand. If Microsoft changed their name to "Bill's Awesome Software Company" their revenues wouldn't dip that much, people would still use Windows and Office. With a company like Google the rules are different because the value is in the domain name. I think they're equating brand name with domain name, which makes for an apples to oranges comparison with companies like HP.