It is scarcely possible to imagine a life in the 21st century without the Internet. In its turn, hardly could anyone imagine the Internet without Google services. We receive and send emails via Gmail, use Google Maps in new cities and countries, and search for the necessary information through the Google search engine. Many of us have smartphones running on the Android operating system. This is also Google's development. In order to give every project the resources, freedom, and focus, Google reorganized itself in August 2015 to become a subsidiary of the holding company Alphabet Inc. The latter actively invests in cloud computing, Internet search, and advertising technologies.

In our article, you will discover who founded Google and how much the first shares of the company were worth. Apart from that, we will discuss why Alphabet stocks are now called blue chips and considered stable and gainful.

How Google parent Alphabet appears

Formerly known as Google, Alphabet was created through the restructuring of Google in 2015. It became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries After that, the holding company became the largest in the tech segment, focusing on different areas of the company's activities.

Google's origin dates back to 1996 when US-based computer science engineers, Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, created their own BackRub search engine. It ranked pages using the number of backlinks to the URL not the number of citations of the word on the webpage. This was the main difference between BackRub and the search algorithms that existed at that time.

Google.com domain was registered in 1997.

The company got its first investment of $100,000 from German entrepreneur Andy Bechtolsheim in 1997. Since 1998, Google has been officially registered in California.

Today, the main competitors of the Google search engine are Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, and Baidu.

Over time, not only the search engine but also Gmail, Google Chrome browser, Android mobile OS, Google+ social network, Google Cloud Platform, Google Maps service, and other company developments have become widely popular among consumers.

Google’s largest acquisitions:

  • 2004: it bought Keyhole, Inc., a digital-mapping firm providing access to satellite photos of Earth. After the acquisition, the service became known as Google Earth.
  • 2006: it purchased YouTube.
  • 2007: Google acquired Grand Central. Later, Google re-launched an expanded version of Grand Central's offerings as Google Voice,
  • 2011: Google announced the acquisition of Motorola Mobility.
  • 2018: the company agreed to buy a chunk of HTC, a manufacturer of smartphones and tablets.

Nowadays, Alphabet Inc. holding employs more than 135,000 full-time staff around the world. The company's products are considered the best quality ones in the IT sector, advertising, and online trading. Apart from Google Inc, the holding's subsidiaries include research company Calico, manufacturer of technologies for self-driving cars Waymo, venture fund GV, and others. In total, the holding comprises more than 400 enterprises.

In 2016, Alphabet Holding twice became the largest company in the world by market capitalization, surpassing Apple.

Alphabet shares

Google held its IPO in 2004 on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. More than 19 million shares were traded at a price of $85 apiece.

Today, Alphabet shares are traded on NASDAQ under the ticker GOOGLE and GOOG. In the first case, these are Class A stocks. They give holders the right to vote. In the second case, traders own Class C shares, which do not give voting rights.

There are also Class B shares. By owning them, holders enjoy more power as Class B shares grant the recipient 10 votes per share held. However, these are not publicly traded stocks. They are owned by the founders of the company and a select few insiders

The value of Alphabet shares exceeds $2,800. Throughout the history of trading, they have always brought high yields. This is why their quotes rise consonantly. Last year, the price ranged from $1,7000 to $2,900.

Keep abreast of the latest market events in the Forex Analysis Section on the InstaForex website.

The price of Google shares depends on the following factors:

  • Acquisition of new companies
  • Presentation of new products
  • Alphabet’s financial performance
  • Administrative penalties and the company's reputation
  • US economic conditions
  • Marketing decisions and earnings results of rivals

For example, in 2017, stocks fell after the European Commission hit Google with a record fine for breaching the EU antitrust law. In 2020, the company incurred losses due to a lockdown.

In the 3rd quarter of 2021, Alphabet's net profit amounted to $18.9 billion, up 68% compared to the same period of 2020.

How to earn on Google shares

The easiest way to gain profit from Alphabet shares is, of course, to purchase and then sell them at a more favorable price. You can do this from anywhere in the world. All you need is to open an account with a broker. However, buying shares requires considerable expenses: to obtain one stock, you need to pay more than $2,800 apiece.

Traders cannot earn from dividends as Alphabet does not pay them. According to analysts, the company allocates funds to large investments in business development and the acquisition of other companies.

You can follow the changes in the quotes of Google shares and charts in real-time on the InstaForex website.

However, you can make a profit by trading on CFDs, namely to buy contracts for the difference, not the shares themselves. In this way, you can receive high returns from swings in the quotes.

If this option suits you, you need to open an account with a broker, for example, with InstaForex, replenish it and open long/short trades. The main advantage of CFDs is that they allow trading with leverage.

To calculate income, you can use the forex calculator on the InstaForex website. To make your trading routine even more comfortable, InstaForex has developed the MT4 platform.

Analysts are quite optimistic about the future prospects of Alphabet shares. According to the consensus, over the next 12 months, stocks may grow by 18% with the average cost of one share worth approximately $3,400.

Conclusion

Alphabet shares are in high demand among investors. They are also quite reliable for investing. Notably, even after a sharp decline in shares triggered by the coronavirus outbreak in the spring of 2020, the price did not fall below $1,000. It means that the holding prospers in the tech sector and retains demand on the stock exchange.

Now, the company’s priorities are the development of new technologies, as well as the full transition to an online business model. Analysts believe that this move will only increase advertising revenue.

If you decide to buy shares of this tech giant and earn money from trading them, go to the InstaForex website and register a trading account.