Why Won't Google Stock Split?

If you watched the stock market Thursday you no doubt saw Google's stock (GOOG) break the $700 mark for the first time. Analysts said they thought it might hit $700 by the end of the year, but few believed it would happen just weeks after Google released their quarterly earnings.

SFGate.com had an article about this big day and noted it took less than a month for the stock to go from $600 to $700.

But I found this quote the most interesting:

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who regard Buffett as an inspiration, have resisted requests to split their company's stock so more people could afford to buy a few shares. Their theory: a high stock price tends to attract more patient and knowledgeable investors who pay closer attention to a company's long-term strategy than its ability to hit short-term earnings targets.

To me, this seems like solid thinking and probably part of why Google isn't another dot com bust. Google has a record of doing things differently and it's been a big contributor to their success. If you recall, they held an auction-style IPO. Sometimes if you want to be successful, you can't just follow the path of others, you need to do your own thing even that goes against the accepted norm. Disclaimer: These are my own independent views (and those of SFgate.com as quoted in the article) and not associated with my employer.