Alphabet is the parent company that owns Google and is listed under the ticker symbol GOOGL.
Google became a subsidiary of Alphabet in 2015, when the founders reorganized the business to separate the mature internet operations from newer projects. Google includes major products such as Search, YouTube, Android, and Google Cloud, while Alphabet also oversees businesses and research units outside Google.
Alphabet is regularly included among the world’s most valuable public companies by market capitalization. Its value is driven largely by digital advertising, especially advertising connected to Google Search and YouTube, with cloud computing and other businesses adding further sources of growth.
Alphabet has two widely traded share classes: Class A shares use GOOGL and carry voting rights, while Class C shares use GOOG and generally have no voting rights. The distinction can cause confusion when a question asks for the company rather than the ticker.