Alphabet operates the Google search engine and was created in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring.
The restructuring placed Google’s core internet businesses under a new parent company called Alphabet. Google retained search, advertising, YouTube, Android, and related products, while Alphabet became the public holding company for Google and several other ventures.
Alphabet is a major market-cap company because advertising remains central to its business, while cloud computing, subscriptions, and hardware provide additional revenue sources. The name Google therefore refers both to the operating company and, in everyday language, to the broader corporate group. Alphabet’s shares trade publicly under the ticker symbols GOOG and GOOGL.