The search giant had announced revenues of $10.65 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, an increase of 24% compared to the first quarter of 2011. The company also announced that its Board of Directors unanimously approved a stock dividend proposal designed to preserve the corporate structure that has allowed Google to remain focused on the long term. The company planning to introduces a new class of stock which will be listed on NASDAQ. These shares will be distributed via a stock dividend to all existing stockholders.
Founders’ Letter from Larry Page and Sergey Brin is focused on defending the move. Much of the defense rides on a reference a similar letter from 2004. The letter noting that they “don’t have an unusually big acquisition planned, in case you were wondering,” but that there wasn’t any good reason to delay it, either. The paperwork will be filed with the SEC next week, they say, and voted on at Google’s annual shareholder meeting on June 21st:
We recognize that some people, particularly those who opposed this structure at the start, won’t support this change-and we understand that other companies have been very successful with more traditional governance models. But after careful consideration with our board of directors, we have decided that maintaining this founder-led approach is in the best interests of Google, our shareholders and our users. Having the flexibility to use stock without diluting our structure will help ensure we are set up for success for decades to come.
