Google Finance Brocade - Financial Data

Here’s a summary of Brocade’s history with Google Finance, focusing on its trajectory and eventual acquisition:

Brocade Communications Systems was a major player in the data center networking space, specializing in storage area networking (SAN) and data center switching. For many years, its stock (BRCD) was tracked on Google Finance, providing investors with real-time and historical data regarding its performance. Google Finance offered typical features for Brocade, including stock charts, news articles, financial statements (income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements), analyst ratings, and related company information.

Brocade’s inclusion on Google Finance reflected its significance as a publicly traded company involved in a critical area of technology infrastructure. Its stock price was influenced by factors like overall market trends, the performance of the technology sector, and, most importantly, its own business results. Key metrics like revenue growth, profitability, and market share in the SAN and data center switching markets were closely monitored by investors through platforms like Google Finance.

The company’s journey on the stock market, and therefore its presence on Google Finance, came to an end in 2017. Broadcom Limited (now Broadcom Inc.) announced its intention to acquire Brocade in November 2016. This news significantly impacted Brocade’s stock price, and updates about the acquisition were readily available on Google Finance’s Brocade page. The acquisition process involved regulatory approvals from various countries, and these developments were also tracked by investors using online resources.

The acquisition was structured in a way that Broadcom would retain Brocade’s Fibre Channel SAN business while selling off Brocade’s IP Networking business. This was due to Broadcom’s primary interest in the SAN market and potential conflicts with its existing businesses. Following the closing of the Broadcom acquisition, Brocade’s IP Networking business was subsequently acquired by Arris International (now CommScope). These transactions were widely reported, further demonstrating how investors used Google Finance to stay informed about Brocade’s ultimate fate.

With the completion of the acquisition by Broadcom and subsequent sale of the IP Networking business, Brocade Communications Systems ceased to exist as an independent publicly traded entity. Consequently, the stock ticker BRCD was delisted, and its dedicated page on Google Finance became historical data. While investors could still access historical information regarding Brocade’s past performance, the live tracking of its stock price and related news ceased. Brocade’s story serves as an example of how companies listed on platforms like Google Finance can undergo significant transformations, including mergers and acquisitions, ultimately leading to their disappearance from the active stock market.