Google - More Questions Than Answers

After enduring years of volatility I sold my position in Google at $520 last May. (I regretfully concluded that I didn't understand the company's strategy at a fundamental level--not that they were wrong, I just didn't understand it.)

Google then released a test version of Google+, its social-network answer to Facebook, and the stock soared past $650. My second-guessing was magnified when Mad Money maven Jim Cramer touted Google as the only company that was a leading player in all three Internet markets-of-the-future: cloud, social, and mobile (Apple doesn't have a major social-networking presence).

Last week Google released quarterly earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations, and the stock plunged $53.58 to $585.99 on Friday. It may look cheap to some investors, but that price is still substantially higher than the point at which I sold it. More importantly, the past year has not added to my enlightenment. I still don't understand the company, so for the time being I'm not getting back in, despite the delicious lunch Google serves at the shareholders' meeting.

Even after its plunge, GOOG has performed better than the averages since May.

[Update - 1/25/2012: the WSJ publishes more information about the $500 million forfeiture that Google paid to avoid prosecution for aiding the sale of illegal pharmaceuticals. It's not new news, but the questions about GOOG's management can only get louder.]