Google and Wal-Mart are the business world's version of yin and yang. Google is a hypergrowth, high-revenue, wildly high-margin company. Three thousand employees produce annual sales of $5 billion (at the current run rate), or $1.67 million per worker. Cash flow is north of $500,000 per worker per year. The typical Google worker possesses an IQ high enough to boil water. Half hold advanced degrees in science or engineering, most from elite universities. Google leaves no stone unturned in its pursuit of brainiacs, even asking to see prospects' SAT scores. Wal-Mart is the opposite of Google. It is the world's largest company by sales—$285 billion—but its profit of $10 billion is in line with low-margin retail. Wal-Mart sends the world's largest work force into battle, 1.5 million (few of them SAT superstars) who generate $190,000 in sales apiece. Cash flow and profits pen Wal-Mart worker are puny—only $16,000 and $6,700, respectively, or about 3% of those of the Google counterpart.
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