Google Shareholders Praise Management

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google Inc. shareholders hailed management during the online search engine leader's annual meeting Thursday, heaping praise on a company that has created $55 billion in investor wealth during the past year.

The only serious criticism lodged during the 75-minute meeting attended by about 200 shareholders focused on Google's recent decision to censor some of its search results in China to adhere to the country's restrictions on free speech.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin sparred briefly with the critic, Tony Cruz of Amnesty International USA. Brin pointed out that rival search engine Yahoo had been cooperating with China far longer, going so far as to provide personal information that has helped land dissidents in jail.

Reiterating previous management comments on the issue, Brin said Google believes its presence in China ultimately will force the government to become less repressive.

He noted that Google's January launch of a search engine under a Chinese domain name already has helped trigger Congressional hearings and drawn widespread media attention to the issue.

Shareholders otherwise were mostly upbeat.

The mood reflected the performance of Google's stock, which has climbed by 70 percent during the past year as the company widened its leadership in Internet search _ gains that have put the company on a pace to generate about $10 billion in revenue just eight years after its inception in a Silicon Valley garage.

Google's shares dropped $15.98, or 4 percent, to close Thursday at $387 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.

That kind of volatility bothers Stephen Moress, who traveled from Los Angeles to attend Thursday's meeting. "It's been a real roller coaster and a little scary," said Moress, who owns 1,000 Google shares. "They need to come up with a better plan to communicate with the press and put a better spin on things."

Oakland, Calif. resident Jack Easterling, who owns 400 Google shares, said he has been feeling more nervous about the stock's turbulence since the price began dropping from its peak of $475.11 in early January.

Easterling, 74, still has made a lot of money on the stock so far, leaving him with few complaints. "I am happy with the way the company is performing."

The high cost to buy Google shares prompted one stockholder to ask if the company's board will split the stock to make it more affordable to the masses.