Four Ways Google Failed
How the IPO didn't change Wall Street.
By Daniel Gross
Posted Friday, Aug. 20, 2004, at 12:01 PM PT

According to the pregame hype, Google's IPO was going to substantially alter the structure of Wall Street, enliven the mood of sour markets, and upend the lousy IPO practices of the 1990s. While still a success—Google raised $1.67 billion, largely on its own terms—the IPO of the decade didn't come close to living up to the promise.

Here's what Google's IPO didn't do.