Alphabet owns the Google search engine and uses the stock ticker GOOGL.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as a holding company and corporate successor to Google’s earlier structure. Google became its largest subsidiary, containing the search engine, YouTube, Android, Google Cloud, and advertising operations.
The reorganization separated Google’s core internet businesses from several longer-term projects, including life sciences and self-driving technology. Those projects were placed under Alphabet’s broader corporate umbrella, allowing the company to report Google and its other activities separately.
Alphabet has two widely traded share classes associated with the symbols GOOGL and GOOG. GOOGL shares generally carry voting rights, while GOOG shares generally do not. Both represent ownership in Alphabet, the parent company, rather than a separate stock in Google search.