Alphabet is the parent company of Google and became one of the first firms to exceed a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Alphabet crossed the $1 trillion threshold in January 2020 as its share price rose in public trading. The company was created in 2015 through a corporate restructuring that made Alphabet the holding company for Google and several other businesses.
Google remains Alphabet’s largest and best-known operation, with businesses including Search, YouTube, Android, and cloud computing. Alphabet also uses its corporate structure to separate Google’s mature advertising business from longer-term projects and other ventures.
Alphabet’s valuation should not be confused with Google’s former standalone corporate identity. Google shareholders received Alphabet shares in the reorganization, and Google became a subsidiary rather than disappearing as a consumer brand. Market-cap rankings can also shift as technology shares rise or fall.