X

Is there more to Larry Page's sickness? One analyst wonders

Google CEO Larry Page wasn't at his company's shareholders' meeting and won't be at the next two events. One analyst is wondering if there's more going on than Google has disclosed.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read

One analyst is wondering what's going on with Larry Page.

Google CEO Larry Page wasn't at his company's annual shareholders' meeting this week because the search company said he lost his voice. Google has already announced that that he also won't be at Google I/O next week -- nor participating in the second-quarter earnings call set for July.

According to Boy Genius Report, which obtained a copy of the note, JP Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth wrote to investors today that some Google shareholders might start asking questions about Page's absence, especially considering the earnings call isn't expected to be held for a few weeks.

"We have no specific reason to think there is anything more to Larry's condition, but we find it odd that the company would already rule him out of the 2Q call which is likely still a few weeks away," Anmuth wrote in his note to investors. "We think this could raise some questions among investors. We note that Larry does not appear to have posted on Google+ since May 25."

Page hasn't historically been a very active Google+ user, typically updating his profile every few days in some cases, and every couple of weeks in others. The radio silence over the last month, however, is an unusually protracted absence.

Still, Page is a chief executive of a major company with too many moving parts to count. That he might not have time to update his Google+ profile is by no means a cut-and-dried sign that something more serious is wrong.

Of course, antennae are up at this point because of the way in which Apple handled Steve Jobs' health issues. Over a period of several years, the company provided little information to investors. Even when Jobs took a medical leave of absence, it failed to inform shareholders as much as they would have liked, raising debates over how much information a firm should share about its chief executive's private life.

But before anyone gets too far ahead of this, it's important to note that Google has not given any indication that Page is suffering from any serious condition, and there is no reason to suspect at this point that anything else would be the case. Investors also don't seem worried -- Google's shares are trading up nearly $4 to $569 today.

CNET has contacted Google for comment on Anmuth's comments. We will update this story when we have more information.