Alphabet (GOOGL 1.35%) (GOOG 1.30%) is best known for Google, which is the most dominant search engine on the planet. Google commands an approximate 90% market share in search, in large part due to the distribution advantages it has. The company owns both the world's leading web browser in Chrome and the No. 1 smartphone operating system in Android.
Alphabet also has a search revenue-sharing deal with Apple to be the default search on all its devices. This essentially makes Google the gateway to the internet for most people. Meanwhile, the company monetizes its search engine through the massive global ad network it has created, which can serve everything from global brands to local merchants. It has gained both the trust of users and advertisers, creating a power network effect that is still in place, even as the market shifts due to the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI).
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Alphabet's many businesses
However, Google is not Alphabet's only business. It also owns the popular YouTube streaming service, which is the largest video platform on the planet. It also owns a plethora of apps and tools, such as Google Maps, Gmail, and Google Workspace. The company also helps other websites and apps monetize their content through its AdSense network.
Meanwhile, Alphabet's fastest-growing segment is its cloud computing business, Google Cloud. This is an infrastructure-as-a-service business that has been seeing strong growth driven by AI, as customers look to build out their own AI models and apps.
Alphabet has established a nice edge in this business, as the company has developed its own custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), that give it a big cost advantage compared to competitors. It has also helped build one of the top large language models (LLMs) in Gemini, which it lets customers use as a foundational model to build upon. And it's infused Gemini across its own products to make them better.
Alphabet also has some attractive emerging bets. The one furthest along is its robotaxi business, Waymo. Waymo is expanding rapidly across the U.S. and recently surpassed 450,000 weekly paid rides. It currently has a big first-mover advantage in the U.S. and is also looking to expand internationally into Tokyo, Japan, and London, England. This business could be a big growth driver for the company in the future.
Meanwhile, it is also making strides in the area of quantum computing. Its Willow chip has shown the ability to correct errors in real-time as it scales, which is a major hurdle for the space. Quantum computing is likely many years away from becoming a contributing business, but it's another area where Alphabet is leading the way.
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Another hidden asset
While Waymo and its quantum computing unit are two hidden assets at Alphabet, they are not the only ones. Alphabet also owns about a 7% stake in Elon Musk's SpaceX, which could IPO late next year.
Alphabet made a $900 million investment in SpaceX back in 2015, when the company was valued at around $12 billion. In a secondary market transaction, the company was recently valued at $800 billion, and Musk has said he will be looking for a $1.5 trillion valuation in an IPO. That would value Alphabet's stake at over $100 billion.
SpaceX could look to go public next year to help fund an increasing launch schedule. The company has launched over 100 rockets just this year, with more than 70 for its own Starlink satellites. The company has established a huge satellite network that now powers its Starlink high-speed mobile internet service, which can work around the globe, even in remote areas. That business has been booming, with the company having more than 8 million customers, and the service available in 150 markets and being used by about two dozen airlines.
SpaceX also makes money through launch services for both the U.S. government and commercial customers. Meanwhile, it also has big ambitions for orbital data centers, which would use solar power from the sun and have free cooling. While that may sound far-fetched, a lot of companies are actually looking into it, including Alphabet.
Alphabet plans to test orbital data centers with its Project Suncatcher, in partnership with satellite imagery company Planet Labs, in which Alphabet owns a 10% stake. It will launch two prototype satellites in 2027 to test the technology and how the hardware handles being in space. Alphabet also owns a stake in AST SpaceMobile, which has a technology that lets satellite networks connect to current smartphones.
So, in addition to its many well-publicized businesses, Alphabet also has a nice investment portfolio of intriguing space businesses, one of which is about to be worth a lot of money in SpaceX. However, that's just an added reason to own the stock. The main reason to own it is that it's becoming an AI leader that has the most complete tech stack of any company, with its highly regarded custom AI chips and world-class Gemini AI model. Meanwhile, the stock is attractively valued, trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 27 times 2026 analyst estimates.
