Alphabet owns Google and became the third U.S. company to reach a US$2 trillion market capitalization, after Apple and Microsoft.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as the parent company of Google and several related businesses. The restructuring placed Google’s core internet products—such as Search, YouTube, and Android—alongside separately reported “Other Bets,” including long-term technology projects.
Alphabet’s shares briefly reached a valuation above US$2 trillion in November 2021. Apple had crossed that threshold in 2020, and Microsoft followed in the same year. Market-cap rankings can change quickly because they depend on share prices, so a company’s position may differ from one trading session to the next.
Alphabet is commonly confused with Google because Google remains its best-known subsidiary. The parent company’s name comes from the idea of a collection of letters and from a term used in finance for a collection of investments.