Mountain View, Calif. — Google’s encore decision to dive into the social media market is paying off — big time.
In just under one month since Google+ launched, the company has seen substantial growth in its users, stock and net market value.
With a reported 10 million-plus members, Google+ has added to the company’s $45 billion valuation with a market capitalization of nearly $200 billion. Google’s stock since the social networking site’s launch has risen an additional 30 percent.
“Google+ has had a lot to do with the perceptions,” said Scott Kessler, equity analyst at Standard & Poor’s Equity Research. “People look at Google as being … a pretty important player in social media.”
USA Today noted that Google’s valuation gain is more than half the estimated value of privately traded Facebook when it launched seven years ago.
Beyond that, Google’s sudden valuation jump in less than one month is more than five times Twitter’s estimated $8 billion value and double Groupon’s $18.1 billion, according to Sharespost.com.
Time will tell if these numbers will propel Google+ to the top of the social networking pile, especially with the onslaught of “frustrated” Google+ users who are seeing accounts suspended for violating its “common name” policy. Yesterday vice president of product for Google+ Bradley Horowitz announced that Google would be changing its policies to better suit its growing user base.
Still, Google+ has seen a number of positive reviews that could bring this giant even closer to toppling Facebook’s brand.
“This is a nice, clean service that’s really working well,” said IDC analyst Karsten Weide. “Whether it’s a win or not remains to be seen. Those user numbers look good.”
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3vallmp (USA Today)
