Alphabet owns the Google search engine and became one of the first companies to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as the parent company of Google and several other businesses. The restructuring separated Google’s core internet products from projects such as life sciences, autonomous vehicles, and other experimental ventures, while leaving Google as Alphabet’s largest operating unit.
Google’s advertising business has historically been the company’s financial foundation. Search advertising, YouTube, cloud computing, and Android all contribute to Alphabet’s earnings and help explain why investors value it among the world’s largest public companies.
Alphabet is often confused with Google because the public-facing products still carry the Google name. Google is a subsidiary and operating company; Alphabet is the publicly traded parent whose market capitalization is measured in stock-market rankings.