Google shareholders got a free lunch on Thursday at the online search engine leader’s first annual meeting as a public company.
There were plenty of leftovers.
Fewer than 200 people attended the meeting at the company’s Mountain View headquarters — a high-tech mecca known as the ”Googleplex.”
The sparse attendance shocked Dolores Stone of Palo Alto, who owns about 200 Google shares.
”I was expecting a mob scene,” Stone said shortly after finishing a plate of roasted chicken. Other shareholders grazed on steamed organic broccoli, pasta, fruit and, for dessert, ”Snickergoogle” cookies.
Google didn’t know what to expect as it opened its doors to shareholders for the first time since completing its much-ballyhooed initial public offering nine months ago. The company held the meeting in an auditorium that could accommodate about 300 people, figuring most investors would monitor the proceedings on a live internet broadcast.
Given its well-known flair for fun, Google also realised the curiosity factor might be high.
In case a big crowd showed up, Google advised shareholders to show up two hours before the meeting started. The company also directed shareholders to a neighbouring amphitheatre and then shuttled them to the headquarters.
George Chandler of Placerville was among the first shareholders to arrive to ensure he didn’t miss anything.
”I thought it would be different from the typical shareholder meeting because Google is so innovative and I thought the meeting would reflect that,” Chandler said.
”When I looked at the agenda, I was looking to see when the dancing girls were scheduled to come on.”
Despite its unconventional reputation, Google put on a straight-laced show. CEO Eric Schmidt and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin spent most of the 90-minute meeting fielding a wide variety of shareholder questions, ranging from concerns about stiffening competition from Microsoft and Yahoo to Google’s policy on employee stock options.
Most shareholders at Thursday’s meeting were upbeat, hardly a surprise, given how well the company has fared since going public.
Google’s profits have soared since the IPO, helping to create $42-billion in shareholder wealth in just nine months.
Google’s shares have more than doubled from the IPO price of $85, even after declining $2,57 on Thursday to close at $228,72 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
The lofty share price prompted a shareholder question about whether the company might split the stock to make it more affordable for individual prices. Brin said it’s unlikely the stock will be split anytime soon.
After the meeting, Stone said she was happy she came.
”Their presentations were very impressive, I hope a lot of people were listening to it on the internet,” she said.
”And the food was great.” – Sapa-AP