The Internet search engine Google, whose name has become a verb synonymous with Web searches (I, myself, googled facts for this piece) announced last week that it would take its stock public in a bid to raise $2.7 billion in capital. This event has Wall Street and the media abuzz with speculation that the new era of the dot-coms is upon us.

The Google IPO is expected to give the six-year-old company a market value of $20 billion, instantly making many of its employees and stockholders very wealthy, and turning 30-something founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin into billionaires — at least on paper.

This sounds like the kind of news we used to expect from Silicon Valley – that is before the bubble burst and the high-tech workforce had to look for new jobs where they would be expected to leave their pets at home, keep regular hours and wear shoes to work.

What doesn’t sound like the good old dot-com days is recent IPOs in which Internet companies actually have identifiable products or services and (gasp!) positive balance sheets.

Advertising.com, a Baltimore-based marketing company, filed its IPO in early April, reporting net income of $18.7 million on revenue of $132.2 million in 2003. Similarly, the SEC filing for online CRM company salesforce.com reported net income of $4.7 million on revenue of $66 million, all in just the first nine months of last year.

Google’s numbers appear to be even more solid. Last year the company earned $105.6 million, or 41 cents a share, on revenue of $962 million, while its first-quarter numbers this year were more than double those of the same quarter last year.

Are the dot-coms finally playing by Wall Street’s rules? I think not.

All of these companies refused to set initial price terms for their public stock. As part of its SEC registration statement, Google’s founders wrote, “Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one.” Not only that, but the company won’t be providing quarterly earnings forecasts, because that kind of stuff is just too distracting for its management team

My view is this: While different rules may apply to Web-based companies in terms of corporate culture (or lack of it), those who got burned when the dot-coms flamed out – and there are lots of us – are now looking for a little accountability. Go ahead with your crazy ways, Google, but if you want me to invest, you’ve got to show me the money.

Regards,

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