Google is an innovative internet firm which started as a simple research project.  Through years of growth and innovation, Google has evolved into an internet-based powerhouse, rivaling that of Microsoft and Yahoo.  Partly because of their relevant search results, and also partly because of their simple and user-friendly approach to searching, Google has grown to be the most frequently used search engine in the world.  Google maintains its competitive market position by continually developing new services and technologies, while also acquiring other small firms with great potential.  Google earns 99% of its revenues through advertising, which are unique because the ads displayed on a page are relevant to the content of that specific page.  Additionally, funded by advertisements, Google is able to offer a number of free services, which range from free web-based e-mail to maps to mobile services for cell phones.  These services attract end-user attention, which is the basis for advertising revenue.

As Google has continued to grow, their stock price has continually risen, eclipsing the $500 mark in early 2007.  More recently however, despite reaching an all time high, Google’s stock has dropped slightly to a market price of $504.77.  This market price is overvalued by only $1.45, based on forecasts of free cash flows, which resulted in a predicted share price of $503.32.  The future for Google holds great uncertainty, as growth is still high, but slowly decreasing, while at the same time, new products continue to be brought to market.  The future may hold unmatched success as Google provides free web-based services to billions of users around the world, while also branching slowly into new and unexpected markets.  Alternatively, Google could also fail like so many technology firms which came before it.  However, only time will tell.