Alphabet operates the Google search engine and is the parent of YouTube.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as a restructuring of Google. Google became the main subsidiary, while other ventures were placed under the new holding company. The change separated Google’s core internet businesses from projects such as Waymo and other experimental divisions.
Google remains Alphabet’s largest business. Its main revenue sources include online advertising connected to Search, YouTube, and partner websites, as well as subscriptions, devices, and cloud services. YouTube became part of Google when Google acquired it in 2006.
Alphabet is regularly included among the world’s largest companies by market capitalization. A common mistake is to use “Google” as the listed company’s legal name; investors buy shares in Alphabet, whose stock trades under the symbols GOOGL and GOOG.