Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, Internet search giant Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Google's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Google facts

Headquarters (Founded) Mountain View, Calif. (1998)
Market Cap $188.6 billion
Industry Internet services
Trailing-12-Month Revenue $40.0 billion
Management Co-founder/CEO Larry Page
CFO Patrick Pichette
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years) 19.8%
Cash/Debt $47.6 billion / $7.7 billion
Competitors AOL
MSN
Yahoo!

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 86% of the 17,684 members who have rated Google believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.  

Just last month, one of those Fools, CoreAndExplore, touched on the several trends working in the stock's favor:

Google is simply at the forefront of almost every market segment it touches, and it happens to be touching all the ones that will be game-changers over the next decade or so. Mobile software, cloud-computing, smart ads, social networking, the list goes on. At about 11x 2013 earnings [Google] seems like one of Mr. Market's jilted lovers -- don't worry though, he'll be back.

If you want market-beating returns, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future. Of course, despite its four-star rating, Google may not be your top choice.

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Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the new TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.