Alphabet (GOOGL -3.89%) (GOOG -3.68%) has earned considerable returns since its initial public offering (IPO). The Google parent began trading on Aug. 19, 2004. It has transformed many parts of the tech industry and earned its place among the "Magnificent Seven."
Still, despite Alphabet's influence on tech, investors rarely examine this stock over a 21-year time span. For that reason, the amount of growth may come as a surprise to many investors.
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Alphabet's growth
If one invested $5,000 at the pre-split price of $85 per share, there would have be 58 pre-split shares in that revamped position. A 2-for-1 stock split in March 2014 added another 58 shares under the company's second ticker, and a later 20-for-1 split for both tickers in 2022 took the share count to 2,320. Today, those shares are worth around $410.000.
Additionally, the stock began paying dividends in the middle of 2024. That added more than $2,300, taking the total to approximately $412,300.
During that time, Alphabet drove its growth primarily in the digital advertising market through Google searches and platforms like YouTube. Moreover, it invested in numerous businesses. Most have not contributed significantly to the top line, and advertising still makes up around 74% of the company's revenue as of the first quarter of 2025.
Nonetheless, a few non-ad businesses have begun to emerge. With that, Google Cloud now makes up 14% of the company's revenue. Furthermore, a recent funding round valued Waymo, its autonomous driving business, at $45 billion. Thus, as self-driving technology goes mainstream, it could become a major contributor to Alphabet's revenue.
Ultimately, with Waymo, Google Cloud, and other businesses, Alphabet retains significant potential for future growth. When also considering that digital ad revenue continues to rise by double-digit rates, the Google parent's growth story is likely to continue for a long time to come.
