Google 2011 Annual Report Download - page 38

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them with the SEC: Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and our Proxy Statements for
our annual meetings of stockholders, for the last three years. These filings are also available for download free of
charge on our investor relations website. We also provide a link to the section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov
that has all of our public filings, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current
Reports on Form 8-K, all amendments to those reports, our Proxy Statements, and other ownership related filings.
Further, a copy of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is located at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street,
NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room can be obtained by
calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
We webcast our earnings calls and certain events we participate in or host with members of the investment
community on our investor relations website. Additionally, we provide notifications of news or announcements
regarding our financial performance, including SEC filings, investor events, press and earnings releases, and blogs
as part of our investor relations website. Investors and others can receive notifications of new information posted
on our investor relations website in real time by signing up for email alerts and RSS feeds. Further corporate
governance information, including our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, governance guidelines, board
committee charters, and code of conduct, is also available on our investor relations website under the heading
“Corporate Governance.” The contents of our websites are not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report
on Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our websites are
intended to be inactive textual references only.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Our operations and financial results are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those described
below, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, and the
trading price of our Class A common stock.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
We face intense competition. If we do not continue to innovate and provide products and services that
are useful to users, we may not remain competitive, and our revenues and operating results could be
adversely affected.
Our business is rapidly evolving and intensely competitive, and is subject to changing technology, shifting
user needs, and frequent introductions of new products and services. We have many competitors in different
industries, including general purpose search engines, vertical search engines and e-commerce sites, social
networking sites, traditional media companies, and providers of online products and services. Our current and
potential competitors range from large and established companies to emerging start-ups. Established companies
have longer operating histories and more established relationships with customers and users, and they can use
their experience and resources in ways that could affect our competitive position, including by making acquisitions,
investing aggressively in research and development, aggressively initiating intellectual property claims (whether or
not meritorious) and competing aggressively for advertisers and websites. Emerging start-ups may be able to
innovate and provide products and services faster than we can.
Our success depends on providing products and services that make using the internet a more useful and
enjoyable experience for our users. Our competitors are constantly developing innovations in web search, online
advertising, and web-based products and services. As a result, we must continue to invest significant resources in
research and development, including through acquisitions, in order to enhance our web search technology and our
existing products and services, and introduce new products and services that people can easily and effectively use.
If we are unable to provide quality products and services, then our users may become dissatisfied and move to a
competitor’s products and services. In addition, these new products and services may present new and difficult
technology challenges, and we may be subject to claims if users of these offerings experience service disruptions
or failures or other quality issues. Our operating results would also suffer if our innovations are not responsive to
the needs of our users, advertisers, and Google Network Members, are not appropriately timed with market
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