166. The 10 Billion Dollar Club (3)
The New York Stock Exchange.
Hyun-woo, Sera, and Robert stood side by side, watching Victoria Corporation’s first trade.
“It’s starting.”
John Pierre’s voice trembled, a stark contrast to the other three.
Hyun-woo thought he was the most nervous person there.
‘Is it because his promotion hinges on the success of Victoria Corporation’s IPO [Initial Public Offering]?’
JPMorgan was a major shareholder, owning 10% of Victoria Corporation’s shares. Therefore, Victoria Corporation’s success was also JPMorgan’s success.
“It has started!”
Since the New York Stock Exchange’s trading was already computerized, the first trade was uneventful.
They simply watched the quotes rise.
“$12.5!”
John Pierre’s voice was filled with excitement.
Sera sighed briefly and responded, “Hmm, at least it’s not dropping.”
Hyun-woo was equally indifferent. “We don’t know what the closing price will be.”
John Pierre’s eyes widened at their reactions. “It went up 25% at the start! Don’t you realize how big this is?”
“I know. Doesn’t it mean Victoria Corporation’s market cap has increased to $25 billion?”
John Pierre blinked at Sera’s question. “Knowing that, how can you say such a thing…”
He couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence.
His eyes were glued to the constantly changing quotes and transaction prices.
“$13.2!”
John Pierre was astonished by Victoria Corporation’s rise.
‘Only two minutes have passed since the start of trading. But it’s already up 32%?’
Victoria Corporation’s market cap currently stood at $26.4 billion.
With this market cap, they could compete with Morgan Stanley, if not JPMorgan.
“$13.5!”
Market cap of $27 billion.
Hyun-woo turned to Robert and asked, “Robert, should we pop the champagne?”
Robert shrugged and replied, “Such a celebration is impossible here.”
John Pierre looked back and forth between the calm three, clicking his tongue inwardly.
‘These people! It’s already a market cap of $27 billion! How high are their expectations?’
He assumed their indifference stemmed from the market cap being lower than their anticipated figures.
But that wasn’t the reason for their composure.
Hyun-woo asked Robert, “Then, shall we head back?”
“I think that would be fine. It seems like the main event is over anyway.”
The applause, cheers, and photo shoots had concluded before the trading even began.
John Pierre raised his voice as he listened to their conversation. “Mr. Jung, are you really leaving already?”
Hyun-woo shrugged. “We took photos and clapped, so isn’t that all there is to do?”
“Aren’t you going to check the stock price?”
“Well, it’s not like the stock price will magically increase just because we watch it all day, is it?”
John Pierre thought, ‘He’s frighteningly calm.’
Most owners felt a sense of triumph as they watched their company’s market cap soar. But Hyun-woo was ice-cold.
“W-Well, that’s true, but…”
“We can just check the closing price with JP Services.”
Thanks to JP Services, they could monitor Victoria Corporation’s stock price in real-time even after returning to the office.
Hyun-woo turned his gaze to Sera and said, “Shall we go?”
“Lunch in Boston?”
“That would be better.”
Robert also turned around, following the other two.
“If we go back to the office, I need to check on the G Shop side.”
The three of them left the New York Stock Exchange.
Only John Pierre remained, tracking Victoria Corporation’s stock price as it fluctuated.
“It’s $14.4. A market cap of $28.8 billion!”
He raised his voice, but no one was listening.
* * *
Airplane returning to Boston.
Thanks to JPMorgan’s consideration, Hyun-woo was able to use a private jet.
On the plane were him, Sera, Robert, and their secretaries.
“Robert.”
Robert put down his champagne and turned his gaze.
“Did you want to stay at the exchange longer?”
Hyun-woo shook his head. “If I had stayed longer, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain my composure.”
He hadn’t been indifferent; he had only pretended to be.
“Really?”
“What would I gain from lying to Robert? It’s not like you’re going to write an article about it.”
Sera leaned back in the leather seat and said, “Before the trading started, I felt like something amazing was going to happen, but it was just numbers going up and down.”
Unlike Hyun-woo, she was genuinely indifferent.
“You didn’t feel anything?”
“It’s just numbers.”
The reason Sera could be indifferent was that even if Victoria Corporation’s market cap increased, nothing actually changed. She still had to go to work the next morning, and the day after that as well.
Hyun-woo turned his head to Robert and said, “Robert, you can sell your shares after the lock-up period [a period during which investors are restricted from selling shares] ends.”
It was common for a major shareholder selling their shares to negatively impact the stock price.
In other words, if Robert sold his shares, Victoria Corporation’s stock price was likely to fall.
“Then, I’ll sell only 100,000 shares.”
100,000 shares were roughly $1.5 million.
“Is that enough?”
“I think I should sell only 5%.”
Robert wanted to sell 5% of his holdings.
“Are you going to keep the rest?”
Sera asked, and Robert nodded. “Victoria Corporation will grow even bigger in the future.”
He had no doubt about Victoria Corporation’s success.
“Come to think of it, we need to pay dividends, right?”
At Hyun-woo’s question, Sera asked back, “How much do you want to pay out?”
“Is it up to me to decide?”
“It’s decided by the board of directors, but the two of us combined own more than 50%.”
Hyun-woo and Sera’s combined stake was not 50%, but well over 60%.
“Hmm, let’s not.”
Sera raised her eyebrows and asked, “Let’s not?”
“Yes, let’s say we’re investing the money in the company’s development instead of paying dividends.”
Robert intervened. “Charlie, the shareholders won’t accept that if you put it that way.”
He thought they should pay at least a minimum dividend.
Sera had the same thought. “That’s right, it’s good to pay at least a minimum dividend.”
Hyun-woo thought of a different direction instead of dividends.
“How about a stock buyback [repurchasing outstanding shares to reduce the number of shares available] instead of dividends?”
“Buy back and retire shares?”
Buying back and retiring shares would increase the value of the shares held by the shareholders.
Some IT companies chose this option.
“Hmm, that’s a way, but will it work?”
When Hyun-woo saw her being skeptical, he clasped his hands together and supported the back of his head.
“Then let’s just pay dividends.”
Sera tilted her head to the side. “Wasn’t the stock buyback a decision you made after careful consideration?”
“I thought about it a bit. I think it might be too early of a decision.”
Hyun-woo thought, ‘The biggest reason for not paying out profits as dividends is to invest that money in future businesses. Victoria Corporation is not a company that lacks investment funds. And if, by any chance, investment funds are insufficient, I can use my own money.’
He already possessed astronomical wealth, so he could cope with any situation.
“So how much should we pay in dividends?”
The story was back to square one.
“Do we have to decide right away?”
“Not right away, but if we’re going to pay dividends, shouldn’t we start this quarter?”
Robert cut in again.
“Sera, we don’t have to pay dividends right away.”
Sera turned to him.
“Do you mean we can just announce the dividend payment and start the actual payments from the next quarter, or even the one after that?”
Robert nodded.
“That’s right. A stock has value today, but it also reflects its future value.”
Stocks reflect future value.
He was explaining the fundamental principle of stocks.
“How high will it go?”
At Jeong Hyun-woo’s question, Robert took a sip of champagne and answered.
“It’ll probably go up to around $15 and then drop a little.”
He saw $15 as a short-term peak.
“You mean it might drop a little, and then, depending on our company’s performance, it could rebound and go up, or it could fall further.”
Robert wanted to maintain a neutral stance, neither overly optimistic nor pessimistic.
This time, Sera asked Jeong Hyun-woo.
“What do you think, Charlie?”
Jeong Hyun-woo shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Sounds like you’re avoiding the question?”
“Am I?”
“If it were the usual Charlie, you would have decided and stated it definitively.”
Jeong Hyun-woo, hearing her words, unlocked his hands.
“Hmm, then let me think about it now.”
“You mean you haven’t thought about it until now?”
“I had too many other things to think about. And I thought we might be disappointed if we raised expectations too hastily.”
In short, he didn’t want to count his chickens before they hatched [rely on something before it’s certain].
Robert asked Sera.
“How much have you thought about it, Sera?”
Sera smiled at his question.
“$20.”
Robert sighed deeply at her answer.
“Haa… That’s too high of an expectation.”
At $20 per share, Victoria Corporation’s market capitalization would rise to $40 billion.
If that happened, not only Jeong Hyun-woo but also Sera’s assets would approach $10 billion.
“Isn’t it better to dream big?”
“What do you mean?”
“Dreaming doesn’t cost money.”
Robert narrowed his eyes as if surprised.
“Sera, are you saying you’re just dreaming, not coldly calculating the stock price?”
“I’m not going to sell it anyway.”
Sera seemed to have no intention of selling her shares in Victoria Corporation.
“Haha, that means I’m the only one here who would sell shares.”
“I didn’t mean to blame Robert.”
“I know.”
Robert was also a very wealthy man compared to ordinary people. But in front of Jeong Hyun-woo and Sera, he was ordinary. They could already get most of what they wanted without selling their Victoria Corporation shares.
Sera said to him.
“Robert, we already sold our shares.”
Jeong Hyun-woo and Sera.
The two had sold their holdings to JP Morgan and Bank of America.
“Ah, now that you mention it, that’s right.”
While the two were talking, Jeong Hyun-woo finished his calculations.
“Sera, I’m done calculating.”
Sera turned to him and asked.
“So, how much?”
Jeong Hyun-woo answered in a clear voice.
“$17.1.”
Sera stuck out her tongue slightly at his answer.
“Tsk, you didn’t calculate it properly.”
“Why do you think so?”
“If it’s $17, it’s $17. What’s with the $17.1? Did you just think about it roughly and say it?”
Jeong Hyun-woo shook his right hand as if to say no.
“Originally, I thought the market capitalization would be $25 billion. If you apply this to our company’s stock price, it would be $12.5, right?”
Sera nodded.
“That’s right.”
“But yesterday, rumors about Walmart came out.”
What drove up Victoria Corporation’s stock price today was the news of a potential collaboration with Walmart.
Sera raised the end of her words slightly, questioning.
“So, that gets us to $17.1?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I think it’ll go up about $3 thanks to the Walmart rumors.”
Jeong Hyun-woo predicted that Victoria Corporation’s market capitalization would exceed $30 billion thanks to Walmart.
“Then it’s $15.5. Where did the remaining $1.6 come from?”
Jeong Hyun-woo held up one finger and answered.
“I think it’ll go up about 10% more if we announce the dividend plan.”
“Hmm, 10%. 10% of $15.5 is $1.55, right?”
There was still $0.05 missing to reach $17.1.
“I rounded up the last digit.”
Sera exclaimed briefly upon hearing his answer.
“Ah, I see. You rounded up from 17.05 to $17.1.”
There was a reason for Jeong Hyun-woo’s calculation.
Robert said softly after hearing his answer.
“After hearing Charlie’s calculation, I think it might be better not to sell even 100,000 shares.”
Jeong Hyun-woo asked him.
“Robert, do you feel like the stock price will go up further?”
“Rather than the stock price, when I look at Charlie, I get the feeling that a future I didn’t expect will come.”
Robert wanted to see further into the future.
‘I have enough money as it is.’
He was already receiving a huge annual salary.
If he didn’t buy a mansion or indulge in luxuries like supercars, his current salary was more than enough.
“Charlie, I have a question.”
Jeong Hyun-woo put both hands on the table at Robert’s question.
“What are you curious about?”
Robert asked cautiously.
“What is Charlie’s salary?”
In 1985, office workers cared more about their monthly salary than their annual salary.
‘Since he’s the CEO, it must be more than mine.’
Jeong Hyun-woo answered briefly.
“I don’t have one.”
Robert’s eyes widened.
“You don’t have one?”
“Yes. I don’t have one. It’s my company anyway. There’s no point in taking a salary.”
“No, even so…”
Jeong Hyun-woo was clearly the largest shareholder of Victoria Corporation. But he was not Victoria Corporation itself. Victoria Corporation, as a corporation, had a separate legal personality [it is recognized as an entity separate from its owners].
Robert turned to Sera and asked.
“Surely, Sera too?”
Sera nodded.
“That’s right. I’m not receiving a salary either.”
The two were not receiving salaries from Victoria Corporation.
In other words, they were working for Victoria Corporation without pay.
Robert raised his voice.
“No, why are you doing that?”
For Jeong Hyun-woo, who came from the 21st century, unpaid work was not unfamiliar.
But for Robert, unpaid management was a cultural shock.
“Is it strange?”
“It’s not just strange. If you don’t have a salary, how do you live?”
“I have enough income from the game alone…”
Jeong Hyun-woo was the creator of the Zero series. Although it had decreased compared to the beginning, he was receiving royalties every time the Zero series was sold.
“What about Sera?”
Sera did not own content that generated revenue like Jeong Hyun-woo.
“I have dividends.”
Robert sighed deeply.
“Haa… I see.”
They were two people living in completely different worlds.
‘What are these two…’
A couple that shouldn’t be understood with common sense.
He couldn’t help but think this way.