In just three short months, Page and Brin, who each own about 38 million shares, have seen the value of their individual stakes rise by about $3 billion, to more than $6.5 billion.
The surging stock has catapulted the two men into the same stratosphere as top media moguls such as Viacom chief Sumner Redstone and publisher Si Newhouse based on Forbes annual list of the richest Americans. Page and Brin are currently tied at No. 43 on the 2004 list.
Despite concerns about growing competition, Google appears to be fending off archrival Yahoo! and even taking market share.
Several analysts yesterday raised their price target on the stock and expect it to hit $200. If that happens, Page and Brin would each be worth more than $7.5 billion
It sounds like the late 1990s, when inflated tech stocks led to the dot-com bust. But analysts say there is one major difference: Google actually makes money.
On Wednesday, Google reported that third-quarter profit and revenue more than doubled and that online advertising shows no signs of slowing down. Net income rose to $52 million, or 19 cents a share, on revenue of $805.9 million.
“It’s not unreasonable to think that Google not only has very attractive growth propects for now but for some time to come,” said David Garrity, an Internet analyst at Caris & Co., who has an “above average” rating on the stock.
“While revenues doubled in the quarter, it’s not unduly aggressive to grow at 50 percent for next 3 to 5 years.”
High times
Net worth for Google’s Sergey Brin (left) and Larry Page jumped about $875 million each yesterday as shares rose $23.05. The pair’s worth has more than doubled since the August IPO.
The net worth of each as of:
August 2004: $3.2B
Yesterday: $6.55B
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