ChatGPT

Perplexity

Gemini

Claude

Grok

Encouraging employees to think big, take risks, challenge the status quo, and foster a culture of experimentation and learning from failure.

Innovation

Putting users first in all product decisions, ensuring that products enhance people's lives and solve real problems at scale.

User Focus

Maintaining a relatively flat organizational structure that allows open communication across teams and levels, fostering ownership and empowerment.

Openness & Collaboration

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace that recognizes different perspectives and ideas drive innovation and better solutions.

Diversity & Inclusion

Striving for technical excellence and continuous improvement across all products and services, setting industry standards for quality.

Excellence

Alphabet Inc. Class C shares (GOOG) represent non-voting equity ownership in the parent holding company of Google and multiple technology subsidiaries, operating as the world's third-largest technology company by revenue. Class C shares offer identical economic exposure to Class A shares but carry no voting rights, while founders retain control through Class B shares.

Sundar Pichai

Chief Executive Officer, Alphabet and Google

Anat Ashkenazi

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Ruth Porat

President and Chief Investment Officer

Thomas Kurian

CEO, Google Cloud

Larry Page

Co-Founder and Board Member

Sergey Brin

Prabhakar Raghavan

Senior Vice President, Google Search and Ads

The world's most popular search engine, processing billions of queries daily and serving as the primary gateway to information on the internet. Generated $198.08 billion in revenue in 2024 from search advertising and remains Google's core product.

Google Search

The leading video-sharing platform globally, with over 2 billion logged-in users monthly. Provides video hosting, streaming, creator monetization, and advertising opportunities, generating $36.15 billion in advertising revenue in 2024.

YouTube

The world's most popular mobile operating system, powering over 70% of mobile devices worldwide. Provides an open-source platform for smartphones, tablets, and other devices, creating a vast ecosystem of apps and services.

Android

Comprehensive cloud computing infrastructure and services including Compute Engine, Cloud Storage, BigQuery, Vertex AI, and enterprise solutions. Competes with AWS and Azure, generating $43.23 billion in revenue in 2024.

Google Cloud Platform

Suite of productivity and collaboration tools including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet, and Calendar. Serves businesses, educators, and individuals with cloud-based office productivity, contributing $40.34 billion in subscriptions revenue in 2024.

Google Workspace

The world's most popular web browser with over 60% global market share. Provides fast, secure web browsing across desktop and mobile devices, integrated with Google's ecosystem of services.

Chrome Browser

The leading mapping and navigation service globally, providing real-time directions, traffic information, street views, satellite imagery, and local business information. Used by over 1 billion people monthly across mobile and web platforms.

Google Maps

Google's multimodal AI model family, providing conversational assistance, code generation, content creation, and advanced reasoning capabilities. Launched in 2023 and integrated across Search, Workspace, and Android, competing with ChatGPT and other AI assistants.

Gemini AI

Alphabet's autonomous driving technology subsidiary, delivering over 200,000 autonomous rides weekly in 2024. Operates driverless ride-hailing services in San Francisco and expanding to Los Angeles, pioneering self-driving vehicle technology.

Waymo

Google's line of consumer electronics including smartphones, tablets, earbuds, and smartwatches. Features pure Android experience, advanced AI capabilities, and tight integration with Google services.

Google Pixel

Alphabet released Gemini 3, which by many measures performed better than OpenAI's GPT-5, solidifying Google's position at the forefront of the AI revolution. The new model demonstrates significant improvements in reasoning, multimodal understanding, and real-time capabilities, benefiting all share classes equally with stock valuations near record highs.

Alphabet Unveils Gemini 3, Outperforming GPT-5 in AI Race

A federal judge ruled that Google can no longer enter into exclusive distribution deals to make its search engine or Gemini AI the default option on phones and devices. However, the court declined to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser, providing partial relief from the most severe antitrust remedies sought by the DOJ.

Federal Judge Bars Google's Exclusive Search Deals, Spares Chrome

Alphabet became the fourth company to surpass $3 trillion in market capitalization, joining Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. The milestone reflects investor confidence in Alphabet's AI capabilities, cloud growth, and core advertising business resilience despite regulatory headwinds. Both GOOG and GOOGL shares participated in this achievement.

Alphabet Joins $3 Trillion Market Cap Club

Financial analysts continue to explain Alphabet's dual-class stock structure to investors. Class C shares (GOOG) carry no voting rights while offering identical economic exposure to Class A shares (GOOGL). The price difference is typically minimal, usually less than 1%, with founders controlling over 60% of votes through Class B shares with 10 votes each.

GOOG vs GOOGL: Understanding the Class C Stock Structure

Alphabet announced its first-ever quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable equally to holders of Class A (GOOGL), Class B, and Class C (GOOG) shares. The dividend represents a new era of capital returns to shareholders while maintaining robust investments in AI, cloud infrastructure, and moonshot projects through Other Bets.

Alphabet Announces First Dividend for All Share Classes

Alphabet announced plans to integrate advertisements into its Gemini AI assistant as the company seeks new revenue streams amid slowing growth in traditional search advertising. AI Overview ads are already monetizing at approximately the same rate as traditional Google Search ads since launching in October 2024.

Google Introduces Ads in Gemini AI Amid Revenue Growth Concerns

Anat Ashkenazi joined Alphabet as CFO and Senior Vice President, replacing Ruth Porat who transitioned to President and Chief Investment Officer. Ashkenazi came from Eli Lilly where she served as EVP and CFO, bringing extensive financial leadership experience during a critical period of AI investment and regulatory challenges affecting all Alphabet stakeholders.

Anat Ashkenazi Appointed as Alphabet's New CFO

Larry Page and Sergey Brin formally incorporated Google Inc. in Susan Wojcicki's garage in Menlo Park, California, after receiving a $100,000 investment from Andy Bechtolsheim. The company was built on the revolutionary PageRank algorithm developed during their Stanford PhD research.

Google Founded

Google held its Initial Public Offering on August 19, 2004, priced at $85 per share, raising $1.67 billion and achieving a market capitalization over $23 billion. The IPO used an innovative Dutch auction process rather than traditional investment banking methods, with all shares initially Class A voting stock.

Google IPO

Google acquired Android Inc., a small startup developing a mobile operating system. This strategic acquisition would transform Google's business, with Android eventually becoming the world's most popular mobile OS, powering over 70% of smartphones globally.

Android Acquisition

Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in stock, gaining the leading video-sharing platform. YouTube has since become one of Google's most valuable properties, generating $36.15 billion in advertising revenue in 2024.

YouTube Acquisition

Google acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, significantly strengthening its position in display advertising and ad technology. This acquisition provided the foundation for Google's advertising technology business, which later became subject to antitrust scrutiny.

DoubleClick Acquisition

Google announced plans to create a new class of non-voting stock (Class C) through a stock split, allowing the company to raise capital without diluting founder control. This structure would enable Page and Brin to maintain voting power while expanding the shareholder base.

Class C Non-Voting Stock Announced

Google completed the stock split creating Class C shares (GOOG), giving existing shareholders one Class C share for each Class A (GOOGL) or Class B share they owned. Class C shares trade separately and carry no voting rights, while offering identical economic exposure to Alphabet's performance.

Class C Stock Split Executed

Google completed a major corporate restructuring, creating Alphabet Inc. as a holding company. This separated Google's profitable core business (Search, Ads, YouTube, Android) from experimental "Other Bets" ventures (Waymo, Verily, DeepMind, X). Both Class A and Class C shares became shares of Alphabet rather than Google.

Alphabet Restructuring

Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down from executive roles at Alphabet, with Sundar Pichai assuming the role of CEO for both Alphabet and Google. The founders retained their board seats and significant shareholdings through Class B super-voting shares, maintaining over 60% voting control.

Sundar Pichai Becomes Alphabet CEO

On April 26, 2024, Alphabet surpassed a market valuation of $2 trillion for the first time, becoming one of the world's most valuable companies alongside Apple, Microsoft, and later joining the $3 trillion club in 2025. Both Class A and Class C shares participated in this milestone.

$2 Trillion Market Cap Milestone

Alphabet announced its first-ever quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share, payable to holders of Class A, Class B, and Class C shares equally. This marked a significant shift in capital allocation strategy, returning cash to shareholders while maintaining growth investments.

First Quarterly Dividend Announced

A U.S. District Court judge ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly in online search and advertising. This landmark decision found that Google's exclusive distribution deals with Apple and others violated antitrust law, potentially reshaping the company's business practices and affecting all share classes equally.

Antitrust Ruling on Search Monopoly

Google launched Gemini 2.0 on December 11, 2024, representing a major leap in AI technology with enhanced multimodal capabilities, faster performance, and real-time interaction. The launch positioned Google as a leader in the AI race against OpenAI and other competitors.

Gemini 2.0 Launch

Anat Ashkenazi joined as CFO on July 31, 2024, replacing Ruth Porat who transitioned to President and Chief Investment Officer. Ashkenazi came from Eli Lilly and brings extensive financial expertise during a critical period of AI investment and regulatory challenges.

Anat Ashkenazi Appointed CFO

On September 15, 2025, Alphabet became the fourth company—trailing Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple—to surpass $3 trillion in market capitalization, reflecting investor confidence in its AI capabilities and core business resilience despite regulatory headwinds. Both GOOG and GOOGL shares participated in this milestone.

Alphabet Inc. (Class A) vs Alphabet Inc. (Class C)

Alphabet Inc. (Class A)

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