Alphabet was the first company based primarily on internet advertising to surpass a $1 trillion market capitalization.
Alphabet crossed the threshold in January 2020, several years after Apple first reached the broader $1 trillion milestone. Alphabet’s principal business is Google, whose search engine and advertising systems generate most of the parent company’s revenue. YouTube, Google Cloud, Android, and other businesses also contribute to the group.
Alphabet was created in 2015 as a corporate restructuring of Google. Larry Page became Alphabet’s chief executive, while Sundar Pichai became Google’s CEO; Pichai later became Alphabet’s CEO in 2019. The structure separated Google’s core internet products from several other ventures.
The wording matters because many companies use the internet, but Alphabet’s valuation was especially tied to online advertising. Meta also relies heavily on digital advertising, while Amazon combines retail, cloud computing, advertising, and logistics.