Starwood Hotels & Resorts on Google Finance

Before being acquired by Marriott International, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. was a publicly traded company. Consequently, historical financial data and stock information for Starwood (formerly traded under the ticker symbol HOT) were readily available on platforms like Google Finance.

Google Finance is a powerful tool that allows users to track the performance of publicly traded companies. For Starwood, this meant investors and analysts could access a wealth of information including:

• Historical Stock Prices: Daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly price trends of Starwood's stock, providing insight into its market performance over time. This data is invaluable for charting, technical analysis, and identifying patterns in stock movement.
• Financial Statements: Access to Starwood's balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, offering a detailed look at the company's financial health and profitability. Investors could scrutinize revenue growth, expenses, assets, liabilities, and cash flow trends.
• Key Financial Ratios: Google Finance calculated and presented key financial ratios like Price-to-Earnings (P/E), Price-to-Book (P/B), Earnings per Share (EPS), and Dividend Yield, which aided in comparing Starwood's valuation and profitability with its peers in the hospitality industry.
• Company News and SEC Filings: Integration with news sources and the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) allowed users to stay informed about Starwood's latest announcements, press releases, and regulatory filings (like 10-K and 10-Q reports). This was crucial for understanding events affecting the company's stock price.
• Related Companies: Google Finance provided a list of comparable companies, which assisted in benchmarking Starwood's performance against its competitors such as Hilton, Hyatt, and InterContinental Hotels Group.
• Analyst Ratings: Aggregation of analyst ratings (buy, sell, hold) from various research firms, offering a consensus view on the company's future prospects.

While Starwood no longer exists as a separate publicly traded entity, its historical data on Google Finance remains a valuable resource. Investors can still analyze Starwood's past performance to understand the dynamics of the hotel industry, the impact of economic cycles on travel and hospitality, and the effectiveness of Starwood's business strategies. Analyzing Starwood’s data alongside the current performance of Marriott (which acquired Starwood) can provide useful insights into the success of the merger and the combined entity's overall market position.

Furthermore, studying Starwood's history on platforms like Google Finance can serve as a case study for aspiring investors and business students, demonstrating how to analyze financial data, interpret market trends, and make informed investment decisions within a specific industry.

It's important to note that past performance is not indicative of future results. However, the historical data on Google Finance provides valuable context for understanding the evolution of the hospitality industry and the factors that drive success in the highly competitive world of hotel management and brand development.