That predictable cycle has been on display once again in the past few years, with industry leaders Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) failing to capitalize fully on growth in mobile markets. In the dynamic technology sector, the biggest and most successful companies sometimes struggle to stay current with the latest trends, much less lead the market with groundbreaking technology or innovation.
But one well-known technology giant is breaking the mold.
Few companies have ever experienced such a meteoric rise, with shares up 750% after going publicless than 10 years ago, making it one of the most valuable in the world.
But unlike many other mega-cap market leaders content to let growth stifle innovation, this company continues to produce market-leading technology in multiple high-growth markets.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is already one of the most valuable and powerful companies in the world. Since going public in the fall of 2003, shares are up more than 750%, giving the company an eye-popping market cap of $293 billion.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s charge higher has been driven by its dominance in the search market, where the company is the undisputed global leader and accounts for close to 75% of total revenue. According to market research firm ComScore, Google captured 66% of the domestic search market in April 2013. Google’s dominance is even more pronounced in Europe, with market shareover 90% in the U.K., France, Germany and Spain. Google is also the market leader in Canada, Latin America and most Asia/Pacific countries.
But instead of resting on its dominance in search, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is leveraging its incredible intellectual and financial resources to pursuit opportunities in high-growth markets.
Nowhere is that more apparent than in Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s bold move into the mobile market. The company’s Android operating system is the No. 1 mobile operating system in the U.S. with 50% market share. Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility in 2010 was a bold play on the hardware and devices side of mobile to create additional synergy with Android. Providing operating systems for mobile devices provides Google with incredible power and flexibility to expand its search business through mobile and share its deep portfolio of products and services.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is also looking to cash in on the fast growing wearable’s market with its Google Glass product. According to Juniper Research, 70 million connected wearable gadgets will be sold in 2017, up from just 15 million this year. Google Glass is a bold play to cash in on that trend, entering the market as an early player and providing the industry with recognition and credibility. Google is expected to sell 124,000 Google Glasses this year, but the growth potential is huge.
Google is also making an aggressive move into broadband data services. The company is in the process of building a superfast 1-gigabit-per-second broadband network called Google Fiber. The broadband network has already been rolled out in a few select cities with excellent results, but long term, Goldman Sachs is predicting that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) could reach as many as 8 million homes in nine years, which would make it one of the largest broadband providers in the country.
