Art Chang is amazed that Google’s (GOOG – $616.32) market cap now exceeds Time Warner (TWX – $19.10), Disney (DIS – $35.39), and News Corp (NWS – $24.48), combined. He’s right to be amazed, but when you think about it from the point of view of someone buying a business, it’s not that amazing.
Google (GOOG – $616.32) is in a growth business, those other companies are not.
At 30 times next year’s earnings, Google is a bargain compared to most companies with the same growth rate. However, Google’s profits are all search. At some point a better product will come along. The question is, will Google have diversified enough by then?
Disclosures: I do not own Google (GOOG), Time Warner(TWX), Disney (DIS) or News Corp (NWS). Of the three, I’d choose Google, but all of them have too much downside. I would look at TWX, DIS, or TWX if they were much cheaper. They all look like fully valued, value stocks right now.
I have traded Google both long and short in the last two years. I also bought Google the day of the IPO at around $95 and sold at $165. (way too soon!)