Alphabet owns the Android operating system and trades under the ticker symbol GOOGL.
Alphabet is the parent company created during Google's 2015 corporate restructuring. Google remains its best-known subsidiary, operating Search, YouTube, Android, Google Maps, and many other products. Alphabet's publicly traded Class A shares use the ticker GOOGL, while its Class C shares use GOOG.
Alphabet is regularly among the world's largest companies by market capitalization. Its main business is digital advertising, especially advertising connected to Google Search and YouTube. It also operates Google Cloud and invests in longer-term projects through businesses often associated with its “Other Bets” segment.
Android was developed initially by Android Inc., which Google acquired in 2005. Alphabet, rather than the former standalone Google corporate structure, became the listed parent in 2015. This distinction matters when identifying the company behind the ticker and its market value.