Google's Parent Alphabet Soars Into $2 Trillion Club, Joining Microsoft And Apple

Google’s parent Alphabet Inc. on Monday joined the exclusive club of companies that are worth more than $2 trillion.

Alphabet has seen a strong year for its business operations at a time when many of its rivals and other companies have been wrangling with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October, Alphabet posted stronger-than-expected earnings that showed growth in advertising spending on its platforms, one of the conglomerate's strongest sources of revenue. Alphabet has seen impressive growth in its cloud computing business, much like Microsoft, which is also in the $2 trillion club.

Reaching the $2 trillion benchmark is a significant achievement for Alphabet, which owns Google and YouTube. At the start of last year, Google on its own reached $1 trillion in valuation while YouTube remains the largest player in the video streaming industry.

Some analysts point out that this position can possibly be short-lived, at least in the near term.

“Anything could happen in the short run, so it may not be as strong over the next three months,” Matt Peron, director of research at Janus Henderson Investors told Bloomberg News. “Over the next three years, however, we really like it and will continue to hold it.”

Apple was the first company to claim the honor of being the first $2 trillion company after also being the first to reach $1 trillion in 2018. Given the strength of hardware sales, Apple’s earnings tumbled in its last financial report, amid a global shortage of computer chips and a rise in COVID-19 cases in Asia.

Microsoft for its part reached the $2 trillion mark in June but was recently named the most valuable company in the world on Oct. 29, owing to its ongoing focus on cloud computing solutions. Microsoft is considered the second-largest player in this area after Amazon, but it has continued to invest heavily in this emerging field. The Redmond, Washington-based company first reached $1 trillion in April 2019.