Why’d The Dow Skip Apple Inc. (AAPL), Google Inc (GOOG) & Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B)?

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Dual-class stocks tend to give insiders an inordinate amount of say in matters of corporate governance, so you can’t really fault the Dow for taking a silent stand against the practice. Once you start making exceptions for geniuses like Warren Buffett, where does the slippery slope end?

So there you have it: Two of the market’s three most obvious candidates would need to split their shares something fierce before punching their ticket to the Dow, and two come with unwelcome stock structures. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) fails both of these tests.

The article Why the Dow Revamp Skipped the 3 Largest Candidate Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com is written by Anders Bylund.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund owns shares of Google in spite of its terrible stock structure, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway, Google, and Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, and Google. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended writing puts on Berkshire Hathaway. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a bull call spread position in Apple. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a synthetic long position in IBM. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. 

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