Alphabet owns Google and became the third U.S. company to exceed $1 trillion in market value.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as a holding company above Google. The restructuring separated Google’s main internet businesses from other projects, while Google remained Alphabet’s largest and best-known subsidiary. Alphabet’s shares passed the $1 trillion threshold in January 2020.
The company’s valuation is driven mainly by Google Search, YouTube, advertising, cloud computing, and Android-related activities. Its corporate structure means that the publicly traded company is Alphabet, even though many consumers know the business primarily by the Google name.
The phrase “third U.S. company” refers to the order of American companies reaching that valuation, following Apple and Microsoft. Market-cap rankings can change daily because share prices move, so the exact order of companies can vary over time. Alphabet should not be confused with Alphabet Inc. subsidiaries or with Google’s former corporate structure before 2015.