readease Chapter 111 Google's Market Value Soars Again
Chapter 111 Google's Market Value Soars Again
Chapter 111 Google's Market Value Soars Again
The smoke from the burning cigars swirled slowly in the halo of light cast by the overhead lamp in the private room, and the sound of Eric Prince's Adam's apple bobbing was particularly clear in the silence.
"I'm sorry, Ernst, I had no choice," Eric Prince broke the silence of the room.
Ernst remained silent, the silver lighter between his fingers clicking softly, the flame flickering in his pupils.
He stared at the coffee cup in his glass for a full half minute without looking up.
A moment later, he suddenly laughed, and the leather sofa made a slight creaking sound, the sound of his body weight shifting, but it sounded particularly jarring at that moment.
Indeed, in the adult world, there are no choices, only the weighing of interests.
My information has probably already ended up on the desks of some big shots at Elephant.
Whether it's themselves, the Garfield family, or the Arlington family, they must have been thoroughly investigated.
Otherwise, Eric Prince wouldn't have apologized; he clearly understood the consequences of agreeing to be the introducer for Ernst.
After Ernst finished laughing, he got up, walked over to the other person, and patted him hard on the shoulder, as if he had patted a rock. "Come back alive."
Needless to say, Blackwater will soon enter a period of rapid development, which is exactly what Eric Prince has always wanted.
Similarly, in order to perfectly complete this order, the other party will definitely rush to the front line and make Blackwater's name known.
As for getting involved with elephants, Ernst thought about it carefully and then felt relieved.
If you simply want to become as wealthy as Bill Gates, you have to choose a side.
Ernst's ambition was greater; he wanted to be the true player in the game, so he didn't care whether he interacted with his opponent or not.
Moreover, it's not without its advantages; at the very least, it allows one to be successful in all aspects and develop smoothly for a period of time.
Watching Ernst turn and walk away, Eric Prince, his eyes slightly moist, suddenly shouted, "I will definitely make Blackwater one of the largest employment companies in the world, as an apology for what happened today."
For Blackwater to reach the scale Eric Prince envisions, the pie is destined to be cut countless times.
No matter how the division is made, Ernst remains Blackwater's largest shareholder, a fact that cannot be changed and will bring him enormous influence, especially in the military sphere.
In America, the military has become a gun in the hands of the Saxons, and the Donald (a derogatory term for the United States) should not even dream of gaining any real control over the situation.
Once Blackwater rises, Ernst can exert considerable influence in the military through the large number of soldiers employed by the mercenaries. Even within the Donkey, this influence can significantly increase his overall power.
Ernst didn't turn around. He waved and opened the door, but before his figure disappeared, he said, "I'll buy you a drink when you come back."
Throughout March, the air in America seemed to be filled with the presence of Google. All the major news topics revolved around this young internet company. Whether it was casual conversation on the street or headlines in financial media, Google's name was everywhere.
The launch of Gmail was like a sudden thunderbolt, stunning the world. Its clean and smooth interface design, convenient and efficient new features, and storage space far exceeding that of its competitors impressed countless users.
In just half a month, the number of registered users skyrocketed, showing an explosive growth trend.
Then it was revealed that Google's projected losses this year could exceed $600 million.
This news instantly caused a huge uproar. The entire Silicon Valley went crazy, then Wall Street went crazy, and finally the whole of America went crazy.
A few days later, news that Google was preparing to launch its Series B funding round first came from Wall Street, and like a whirlwind, it spread throughout the United States in less than 24 hours.
What's most astonishing is Google's valuation.
A recent valuation of Google by a reputable Wall Street firm has reached a staggering $32 billion, a figure that even surpasses that of Yahoo, which has already gone public.
It's important to understand that Yahoo is already a giant in the internet industry. The fact that Google, a company that is not yet publicly listed and is facing huge losses, has a valuation that surpasses Yahoo's is simply beyond the comprehension of ordinary investors.
The news immediately set the entire United States ablaze.
On the streets and alleys, people are discussing Google's valuation during their leisure time.
"How is this possible? A loss-making company has such a high valuation?"
"Did I hear that right? This world is crazy!"
Similar exclamations could be heard everywhere; everyone found it unbelievable, as if they were in an absurd dream.
Not to mention outsiders, even within Google itself, people thought it was unrealistic.
"I'm starting to wonder if I'm dreaming. Google suffered huge losses this year, and I thought it would be affected and impact the company's valuation."
Sergei Brin never expected that, although there was an impact, it would be positive.
Ernst stood by the window, the sunlight streaming through the glass and bathing him in a golden glow.
He looked at the cars parked in the yard, a meaningful smile curving his lips, and snorted, "Do you believe it or not?"
If Google were to announce that its projected losses this year are not $600 million but $800 million, Google's valuation would surge by at least $500 million, or even more than $4 billion.
"Why?" Sergei Brin frowned, puzzled, his eyes filled with doubt.
Ernst turned around, pointed to the sofa next to him, and gestured for Sergei Brin to sit down first.
He picked up a stack of newspapers from the desk next to him and gently placed them in front of Sergei Brin.
"You haven't been reading the newspaper these past few days, have you?"
Sergei Brin shook his head. "I'm so busy, I barely get any sleep. How could I possibly have time to care about what's going on outside?"
In order to cope with the explosive growth of the email business and various company affairs, he has hardly had a good night's sleep. His dark circles are so heavy that they look like he has applied smoky makeup.
Ernst took a cigar from the cigar box and slowly cut it with a cigar cutter, his movements skillful and elegant.
As he processed the document, he said, "You'll understand after you see it."
Sergei Brin glanced at Ernst with some skepticism, then casually picked up the top newspaper and began to read it seriously.
The headline in the newspaper was particularly eye-catching.
"The New Logic Behind Google's Soaring Valuation in the Internet Industry"
About ten minutes later, after reading the first newspaper, Sergei Brin's expression gradually changed from initial confusion to astonishment, and finally, he angrily slammed the newspaper on the table. "We've been used as pawns by Wall Street!"
Wall Street has really gone all out to develop the internet, a field far from easy to enter, with a flood of GGs (Google Addicts) all revolving around one thing: the valuation of the internet industry.
There were many ways to value a company in the past, the most common being the PE ratio, or price-earnings ratio.
The price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio) is calculated by dividing the market price per share of a listed company's common stock by the company's annual earnings per share.
Nowadays, technology companies are valued using the traditional methods for physical companies, namely the price-to-earnings ratio (P/E ratio).
However, internet companies are different; the larger the internet company, the more difficult it is to make a profit in the early stages.
An internet company going public may not even have a mature business, let alone a stable business model. The price-to-earnings ratio simply cannot reflect the value of an internet company.
Therefore, Wall Street developed a new valuation model for internet companies, proposing a strategy of burning money for growth. For these internet companies, metrics such as page views, clicks, click-through rates, and user activity are used to estimate the value of the internet.
This theory used to be an evaluation standard within Wall Street, but now Wall Street is using a lot of media to constantly instill this information into all non-newcomers.
Google is expected to lose $600 million this year, which would have caused its stock price to collapse in a traditional industry.
But Google's valuation has increased significantly. Why?
This huge loss resulted in a massive increase in Google users.
As Google Search's user base grew globally, Gmail, which amazed the world after its release, faced server overload.
The internet industry today burns through cash at a rate that is unparalleled in later generations; behind every user lies a massive amount of hardware costs.
Google is anticipating such a large loss this year because it plans to build four new large data centers around the world.
"Now Wall Street is setting an example through Google, and it's no surprise that it will ignite the primary and secondary markets in the United States."
"It's like someone winning a huge lottery prize, and this lottery actually has a pattern. Do you think the number of people buying lottery tickets will increase the next day?"
"More and more venture capitalists will flock to this industry, driven by a speculative mentality, hoping to find the next Google. More and more financial funds will also set their sights on this industry, trying to get a share of the internet wave."
Ernst didn't care; Wall Street's goal was simply to expand the entire market through the wealth myth of Google.
Although Google was used as a pawn, it was actually beneficial to Google's market value.
At least now Google has more capital to expand its business and grow stronger.
Although he was being used as a pawn, Sergey Brin understood that it was also beneficial to Google's market value, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied with Wall Street's methods.
"Now I finally understand why you're so resistant to those Wall Street guys joining Google's board. If they really joined, would Google still have any secrets?"
"Our strategic plans, financial data, and so on will probably be firmly in their hands, and could become bargaining chips for them to profit from at any time."
His tone was full of wariness towards Wall Street capital; after all, no one wants their hard-earned company to become a tool for others to manipulate the market.