How to Invest in Google Stock

Is Google publicly traded?

Google has been a publicly traded company since 2004. However, it no longer trades under that name. As the company grew beyond its namesake search engine, it changed its name. In 2015, Google formed a holding company called Alphabet (GOOG +2.67%)(GOOGL +2.70%).

The new name fits with its evolution into a collection of companies. In addition to Google, brands underneath the Alphabet umbrella include:

• YouTube
• Android
• Chrome
• Fitbit
• Nest
• Pixel
• And many others, like the Google Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot and Waymo autonomous driving unit.

Google stock split history

Google and its parent company, Alphabet, have completed two stock splits in its history. Google implemented a 2-for-1 split in 2004, giving each Class A holder one Class C share. The second split came in 2022 when Alphabet conducted a 20-for-1 split.

Why does Google (Alphabet) have two tickers?

Google's parent company, Alphabet, trades on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It has three share classes and two stock tickers:

1. Class A shares (GOOGL): The Class A shares carry one vote per share.
2. Class B shares (non-traded): Each Class B share has 10 votes. Google's co-founders own these shares, giving them more voting power.
3. Class C shares (GOOG): The Class C shares have no voting power.

Given their voting power, Class A shares (GOOGL) tend to trade at a slightly higher price than Class C stock (GOOG). Investors need to determine if having a vote is worth paying the slightly higher cost to invest in the company.

How to invest in Google

Although you can't invest directly in Google's search engine, you can invest in its parent company, Alphabet. You can buy shares of Alphabet in any brokerage account. If you still need to open one, these are some of the best-rated brokers and trading platforms. Here's a step-by-step guide to buying Alphabet:

1. Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments.
2. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page.
3. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock.
4. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay.
5. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order.
6. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly.

Alternative ways to invest in Alphabet stock

Instead of actively buying shares of Alphabet directly, you can passively invest in the technology company through a fund holding its shares.

Alphabet is one of the largest companies in terms of market capitalization and is a widely held stock. Alphabet is in several stock market indexes, including the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) and S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC). As a result, index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that benchmark their returns against those indexes hold Alphabet stock.

According to ETF.com, 348 ETFs owned almost 667.6 million shares of Alphabet as of mid-2025. The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI +0.82%) owned the most shares at 151.9 million. The fund had a 1.7% portfolio weighting to the Class A shares and a 1.4% weighting to the Class C shares. That gave it a 3.1% total weighting to Alphabet, making it the fund's fourth-largest holding.

Investors seeking greater exposure to Alphabet could consider the Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX +0.95%). The fund had a more than 22% weighting to Alphabet stock, making it a great way to invest passively in the tech titan and other communications services companies.

Should you invest in Google?

Before investing in Google's parent company stock, you need to determine if Alphabet shares are a worthwhile investment. Here are some factors to consider before investing in Alphabet stock:

Is Alphabet profitable?

Alphabet is a wildly profitable company. The technology titan produced almost $34.5 billion of net income in the first quarter of 2025, up from more than $23.7 billion in the year-ago period.

The company's investments in artificial intelligence (AI) were a big factor driving its earnings growth. Google saw strong search growth, powered in part by features like AI Overviews.

Alphabet's revenue

Alphabet generated $90.2 billion of revenue in the first quarter of 2025, up 12% from the prior-year period. Google search remains the company's biggest revenue contributor. The company's search engine generated $50.7 billion of revenue in the quarter, 56% of Alphabet's total revenue for the period. YouTube ($8.9 billion) and Google Cloud ($12.3 billion) are two of the tech giant's other big revenue drivers.

Alphabet's valuation

Alphabet's valuation has increased over the past few months:

Does Alphabet pay a dividend?

Google's parent company, Alphabet, initiated its first-ever dividend payment in April 2024. The technology giant set its quarterly rate at $0.20 per share. The next year, it raised its payment by 5% to $0.21 per share each quarter.

In addition to paying dividends, the technology titan uses its excess free cash flow to repurchase shares. It authorized another $70 billion buyback program in early 2025.

The bottom line on investing in Google

Google remains the dominant name in internet search. However, the company has grown beyond search over the years, leading it to change its corporate name to Alphabet. The company is highly profitable. Shares of Google's parent company could make a good long-term investment, especially if profits continue rising at a rapid rate.

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