There are three seminal contributors to determining the value of your company: 1) The perceived growth opportunity in your market
2) The perceived position of your brand in your market
3) Your perceived ability to execute
Simply stated, if people (investors) think that you are in a large and growing market, you have a dominant brand in that market, and you can execute, they will highly value your company.
It is the CEO’s job is to position the company for growth in this context, create these perceptions, AND execute.
This is why Google’s market cap is larger than the GDP of many countries. People think they are in a big and growing market, they have the leading brand, and they have a track record of executing. The minute these perceptions change and/or they miss their quarterly earnings expectations, their stock will fall.
Simply stated, to build a highly valuable company you must be legendary on all three fronts.