Sunday, February 18, 2007

Comparing multiple stocks in Google Finance

Google Finance lets you visually compare multiple stocks within one chart. You can also link directly to this graph by passing parameters via URL. For example, to view a graph of Microsoft, Apple, and Google, use the following formatting:

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=MSFT+AAPL+GOOG

This is useful if you want to compare all or a subset of stocks in your portfolio. Just bookmark the URL. Ideally, Google Finance will incorporate a "link to this page" feature, similar to Google Maps. This would allow a user to customize their chart and save the results. One complaint I have with this direct linking method is the inability to pass other information via URL, such as time span, ie. 1 month, 3 months, 1 year. Also, if you pass more than 3 stocks, only the first 3 are visible by default, meaning you have to select a check box to bring up each additional stock. With more than 3 stocks selected the chart starts to get cluttered, but I would still like this option.

In the example mentioned above, I was playing with the time axis and noticed an interesting trend over the last 3 years. Since February 2004, Microsoft's value has remained flat, while Google has increased 333% and Apple has increased almost 650%.


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