Google 2011 Annual Report Download - page 47

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In addition, we believe that our corporate culture fosters innovation, creativity, and teamwork. As our
organization grows, and we are required to implement more complex organizational management structures, we
may find it increasingly difficult to maintain the beneficial aspects of our corporate culture. This could negatively
impact our future success.
Our business depends on continued and unimpeded access to the internet by us and our users.
Internet access providers may be able to block, degrade, or charge for access to certain of our products
and services, which could lead to additional expenses and the loss of users and advertisers.
Our products and services depend on the ability of our users to access the internet, and certain of our
products require significant bandwidth to work effectively. Currently, this access is provided by companies that
have significant market power in the broadband and internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone
companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, and government-owned service providers.
Some of these providers have taken, or have stated that they may take, measures that could degrade, disrupt, or
increase the cost of user access to certain of our products by restricting or prohibiting the use of their
infrastructure to support or facilitate our offerings, or by charging increased fees to us or our users to provide our
offerings. Such interference could result in a loss of existing users and advertisers, and increased costs, and could
impair our ability to attract new users and advertisers, thereby harming our revenues and growth.
New technologies could block our ads, which would harm our business.
Technologies have been developed (including by us) that can block the display of our ads and that provide
tools to users to opt out of our advertising products. Most of our revenues are derived from fees paid to us by
advertisers in connection with the display of ads on web pages for our users. As a result, such technologies and
tools could adversely affect our operating results.
We are exposed to fluctuations in the market values of our investment portfolio.
Given the global nature of our business, we have investments both domestically and internationally. Credit
ratings and pricing of these investments can be negatively impacted by liquidity, credit deterioration or losses,
financial results, or other factors. As a result, the value or liquidity of our cash equivalents and marketable
securities could decline and result in a material impairment, which could materially adversely affect our financial
condition and operating results.
We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities.
Our future income taxes could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions that
have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated in jurisdictions that have higher statutory tax rates, by
changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, as a result of gains on our foreign exchange risk
management program, or changes in tax laws, regulations, or accounting principles, as well as certain discrete items. We
are subject to regular review and audit by both domestic and foreign tax authorities. Any adverse outcome of such a
review or audit could have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition. In addition, the
determination of our worldwide provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities requires significant judgment, and
there are many transactions and calculations where the ultimate tax determination is uncertain. Although we believe our
estimates are reasonable, the ultimate tax outcome may differ from the amounts recorded in our financial statements
and may materially affect our financial results in the period or periods for which such determination is made.
Our operating results may fluctuate, which makes our results difficult to predict and could cause our
results to fall short of expectations.
Our operating results may fluctuate as a result of a number of factors, many outside of our control. As a
result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and you should not rely
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