Alphabet, the parent company of Google, hit a market capitalization of $3 trillion for the first time on Monday, joining a select group of US technology giants that have crossed the threshold.
Shares of the company surged more than 4% in New York trading, with Class A stock climbing 4.6% to $251.88 and Class C stock up 4.5% to $252.30, both at record highs.
The rally lifted Alphabet into the ranks of Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia, which have also breached the $3 trillion mark.
Nvidia currently leads the group with a valuation exceeding $4 trillion.
The milestone comes about two decades after Google’s initial public offering and just over ten years after the creation of Alphabet as its holding company.
Alphabet shares have risen more than 30% this year, double the gain of the Nasdaq Composite.
Antitrust ruling fuels market confidence in GOOG
The stock has been on a tear since early September, when a US court issued a lighter-than-expected ruling in a landmark antitrust case.
The Department of Justice had pressed for a breakup of Google, including a forced divestiture of the Chrome browser, after a district court found the company held an illegal monopoly in online search.
But US District Judge Amit Mehta rejected the most severe penalties, allowing Google to retain Chrome and continue making payments to partners for preloading products, provided it avoids exclusive arrangements.
The decision triggered a $234 billion jump in Alphabet’s market capitalization.
“This is a monster win for Cupertino and for Google. It’s a home run ruling that removes a huge overhang on the stock,” said Daniel Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, following the ruling.
The outcome also drew attention from President Donald Trump, who congratulated the company and called it “a very good day.”
Google Cloud growth adds momentum
Investor sentiment has also been bolstered by robust growth in Google Cloud, which reported a 32% rise in revenue to $13.6 billion in the second quarter.
Gains were driven by increased adoption of Google Cloud Platform products, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and generative AI solutions.
The cloud division’s annual revenue run rate has now exceeded $50 billion.
Bloomberg also reported that Google Cloud holds $106 billion in customer commitments, with more than half expected to be realized as revenue within the next two years.
CEO Thomas Kurian said the figures reflected strong demand across industries for AI-driven cloud services, with backlog growth signaling further expansion.
AI competition and regulatory challenges
Alphabet’s rise has not been without challenges.
The company continues to face scrutiny from regulators in both the US and Europe over its dominance in digital markets.
At the same time, rivals such as OpenAI and Perplexity have intensified competition in the artificial intelligence space, pushing Google to accelerate the development of its Gemini suite of AI models.
Sundar Pichai, who became CEO of Alphabet in 2019, has sought to steer the company through this environment of regulatory pressure and technological disruption.
Analysts say the company’s ability to defend its core search business while scaling up its cloud and AI platforms will be key to sustaining momentum at its current valuation.
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