Laird PLC, now known as Advent International after being acquired and taken private, was a publicly traded technology company once readily tracked on platforms like Google Finance. Before its delisting, Google Finance provided investors with essential information about Laird, allowing them to monitor its performance and make informed decisions.
Google Finance offered a snapshot of Laird’s financial health, displaying its real-time stock price, historical price charts, and key financial ratios. The stock ticker, formerly LRD on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), would have provided an immediate indication of its current trading value. Investors could analyze Laird’s price movements over various periods – daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly – helping them identify trends and patterns.
Beyond the price itself, Google Finance presented vital statistics. These included the opening price, closing price, high and low prices for the day, trading volume, market capitalization, price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, earnings per share (EPS), and dividend yield (if any). Market capitalization gave an understanding of the company’s overall value, while the P/E ratio offered insights into whether the stock was overvalued or undervalued relative to its earnings. EPS showed the profitability of the company on a per-share basis. This information was crucial for fundamental analysis.
Google Finance also featured news articles and press releases related to Laird. This section kept investors abreast of significant events impacting the company, such as earnings announcements, new product launches, acquisitions, or changes in leadership. Analyzing these news items helped investors understand the context behind stock price fluctuations and assess the potential future performance of Laird.
Financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, were often available through Google Finance (linked to other sources). These reports allowed a deeper dive into Laird’s financial performance, revealing details about its revenue, expenses, assets, liabilities, and cash flow generation. Examining these statements over several periods helped investors identify trends in profitability, financial stability, and operational efficiency.
Competitor information was another valuable feature. Google Finance usually provided a list of companies considered Laird’s peers within the technology sector. This allowed investors to compare Laird’s performance against its competitors and assess its relative strengths and weaknesses. This comparative analysis was essential for understanding Laird’s competitive position within the market.
While Laird is no longer publicly traded and therefore unavailable on Google Finance, the platform remains a valuable resource for tracking other publicly listed companies. The features it offered for Laird – real-time price data, historical charts, financial ratios, news articles, financial statements, and competitor information – are still available for numerous other companies, empowering investors to conduct thorough research and make informed investment decisions.