Alphabet
Google, YouTube and Android under one roof.
52-week range
As of 5 Oct 2026, 17:51What does Alphabet do?
Alphabet, based in Mountain View, California, is Google’s parent company. Search, YouTube, Android and Google Maps are free for you. Advertisers pay instead, showing you ads that match what you search for or watch. Google Cloud, subscriptions like YouTube Premium and the Gemini AI are growing too. A small unit called Waymo builds robotaxis.
From every Google search, YouTube videos, Google Maps in the car and Android on most phones.
How Alphabet makes money
- Google Search (ads)56 %
- Google Cloud15 %
- Subscriptions, Play Store & devices12 %
- YouTube ads10 %
- Ads on partner sites7 %
Strengths
- Google is by far the most used search engine in the world.
- Google Cloud is growing fast and is now profitable.
- Its own AI research (Gemini) and its own AI chips make Alphabet less dependent on others.
Risks
- AI chatbots could weaken classic Google Search and with it the ad business.
- Antitrust cases in the US and EU could restrict business models or get expensive.
- About three quarters of revenue comes from advertising, which drops quickly in a downturn. There is also dollar risk.
- Founded
- 1998
- Headquarters
- Mountain View, California
- Employees
- about 191,000
What if you had invested in Alphabet earlier?
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This page explains the company and is not a recommendation to buy or sell.