Alphabet operates Google and became the fourth US company to exceed a US$1 trillion market capitalization.
Alphabet crossed the $1 trillion threshold in January 2020. It followed Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon into the group of U.S. companies whose publicly traded shares had reached that valuation.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as a holding company and corporate reorganization of Google. Google remained its largest business, including Search, YouTube, Android, and advertising, while Alphabet also housed ventures such as Waymo and other “Other Bets.”
The company is often confused with Google because Google is its principal subsidiary, but Alphabet is the publicly traded parent company. Market capitalization applies to Alphabet’s shares, not separately to Google. Alphabet’s share classes also make its ownership structure more complex than a single class of ordinary stock.