Alphabet was the first company built around internet search and online advertising to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, crossed $1 trillion in January 2020. Its valuation was supported by Google Search, the company’s dominant online advertising business, as well as YouTube, Google Cloud, Android, and other technology investments.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as part of a corporate restructuring. Google became the principal operating subsidiary, while Alphabet provided a broader holding-company structure for businesses such as its research and “Other Bets” projects. The corporate name change did not mean that Google Search disappeared or that Alphabet replaced the Google consumer brand.
Alphabet’s market value depends on investor expectations about advertising growth, cloud profitability, artificial intelligence, regulation, and competition. It reached the trillion-dollar level after Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Saudi Aramco had already recorded similar milestones.