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Before taking their Internet search engine company public, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page joined  chief executive Eric Schmidt in adding an unusual pact to the firms prospectus that stated the three pledged to work there together through at least 2024, and four years into that commitment the firm today announced fourth quarter revenue of $4.83 billion, an increase of 51 percent over the same quarter in 2006. Triptych Billionaires The informal pact was revealed during a recent interview Brin, Page and Schmidt held with Fortune magazine senior writer Adam Lashinsky, and was included in a section of Google's April 2004 initial public offering prospectus it called the "Owner's Manual," company spokesman Jon Murchinson confirmed Wednesday. "We agreed the month before we went public that we should work together for 20 years," Schmidt said in the hour-long interview held to celebrate Google being named Fortune's best company to work for, an honor it has now received two years running. Google's president of products Page would be 51 years old and Brin, president of technology, would be 50 when the pact expires, while company chairman Schmidt would be 69, the trio of billionaires said. "Happy people are more productive," Page observed, and offered a glimpse into his leadership style, noting "there is a sort of a natural size for human organizations," he said. Long Term Shareholder Interest in Mind The three top executives had not formulated any particular projects that would take at least two decades for  Google to complete, but the pact instead shows how seriously the trio take the long term health of their firm, according to Murchinson in a recent Wall Street Journal article. Long term goals and investor reassurance appear to have been priorities since the pre-IPO days at Google. "If opportunities arise that might cause us to sacrifice short-term results but are in the best long-term interest of our shareholders, we will take those opportunities," the trio wrote in a founding company document. "We will have the fortitude to do this. We would request that our shareholders take the long-term view," the document added. While no leadership changes appear to be in the cards for some time, as many as 500 of Google's original 2,300 pre-IPO employees, of which 900 became instant millionaires, have reportedly sold their stock options and left the company. Fourth Quarter Earnings Healthy, Slightly Below Expectations Thursday's fourth quarter earnings report was healthy and a sign of Google's continued strength within its primary online search advertising business, showing profits gaining 17 percent over the quarter amidst sales which grew at 51 percent, however the report did not meet analysts' expectations and may show that the firm is seeing the affects of the recent economic downturn. Schmidt said Thursday's earnings report represents strong performance. "We're very pleased with our performance this quarter," said Schmidt. "It reflects strong momentum in our core business, growing receptivity to our new business initiatives, and improved discipline in managing our operating expenses," he added. Google's online advertising partners in its AdSense program generated $1.64 billion in revenue for the quarter, representing 34 percent of $4.83 billion in total revenues, a 37 percent increase over the $1.2 billion the same type of programs brought in during the fourth quarter of 2006, and a 12 percent rise over the $1.45 billion in revenues seen during the third quarter of 2007. Google Trio Made Pact, Now Profits Up 51 Percent Google's vast collection of Web site properties brought in revenues of $3.12 billion during the fourth quarter of 2007, or 65 percent of its total revenues. During the same quarter of 2006 this mainstay group of Google properties brought in revenues of $1.98 billion, making Thursday's results a strong 58 percent higher, while increases over the previous quarter of 2007 were up 14 percent from $2.73 billion. While the past month has seen Google's share value drop 22 percent, the firm remains the world's most valuable Internet company, with market capitalization of some $170 billion. Related Links:
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11:03 pm on Jan. 31, 2008 (utc 0)