By Ryan W. Neal - Following a Wednesday two-for-one split, Google stock began trading under two different NASDAQ stock tickers on Thursday. The older ticket, “GOOG,” now refers to Class C shares of Google, while the Class A stock traders under “GOOGL.”
The split means that there are now twice as many shares of Google being traded, and so far the split is doing well for the Mountain View, Calif.-based search company. Both stocks surged early in trading before settling back down, and are currently up more than two points each.
The early performance should alleviate early fears about the sudden decrease in price caused by the split.
Google made the split in order to give founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin more control over the ever-expanding company. Each share of Class A stock will count as one vote when it comes to Google ownership, while Class C will not count for votes. Google will only issue Class C stock going forward, solidifying Brin and Page’s ownership of the compang.
According to MarketWatch, the split will allow Brin and Page to offer stock options for future acquisitions without requiring shareholder approval or disrupting the current voting rights at Google.