Alphabet is the parent company of Google and has ranked among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Alphabet was created in 2015 through a corporate restructuring that placed Google’s core businesses under a new holding company. Google Search, YouTube, Android, and Google Cloud became central parts of Alphabet’s operations, while other projects were grouped as “Other Bets.”
The restructuring separated the mature advertising and internet businesses from longer-term ventures such as life sciences, autonomous vehicles, and other experimental projects. Alphabet’s stock-market value is therefore tied mainly to Google’s advertising, cloud, hardware, and subscription performance.
Alphabet is sometimes confused with Google because Google remains its best-known subsidiary. For market-cap comparisons, however, investors buy Alphabet shares, not shares in a separately listed Google parent.