"Google Is Not a Real Company. It's a House of Cards."

When Google went public in August 2004 at $85 per share, many analysts were skeptical. They questioned whether search advertising was a real business, predicted Microsoft would crush them, and called the IPO price "absurdly overvalued."

Google (now Alphabet) is currently worth over $2 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in history. The stock has returned over 6,000% since IPO. Search advertising became the most profitable business model on the internet, and Google expanded into cloud computing, AI, autonomous vehicles, and more.

The "house of cards" turned out to be built on a foundation of pure profit.