GOOG and GOOGL are stock ticker symbols for Alphabet (the company formerly known as Google). The main difference between the GOOG and GOOGL stock ticker symbols is that GOOG shares have no voting rights, while GOOGL shares do.
The company created a new class of nonvoting stock in April 2014 and issued a Class C share for each Class A share previously held by shareholders. Anyone who held A shares at the time of the split received an equal number of C shares, but their voting power did not increase. The action preserved the majority control of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. When companies go public, founders often lose control over time as additional share offerings and sales can leave them in the minority.
Alphabet’s founders are determined to remain in control of the company, a goal shared by other tech tycoons. Markets and investors can be shortsighted in their insistence on immediate results, even at the expense of long-term strategy. The stock split enabled Brin and Page to take advantage of public-market liquidity while retaining majority control of the company.
Key Takeaways
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has two listed share classes that use slightly different ticker symbols.
GOOGL shares are its Class A shares, also known as common stock, which have the typical one-share, one-vote structure.
GOOG shares are Class C shares that confer no voting rights.
Because of their voting rights, A shares may trade at a premium to C shares; however, in reality, the prices of the two are often quite close to one another.
There is a third type of share, Class B shares, which are held by founders and insiders and confer 10 votes per share. Class B shares can’t be publicly traded.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced a 20-for-1 stock split in February 2022. The split took effect on July 15, 2022.
GOOG
GOOG shares are the company’s Class C shares. Class C shares give stockholders an ownership stake in the company, just like Class A shares, but unlike common shares, they do not confer voting rights on shareholders. As a result, these shares tend to trade at a modest discount to Class A shares. These Class C shares should not be confused with the type of C shares issued by some mutual funds.
There are also Class B shares conferring 10 votes per share, but these are held by founders and insiders only and do not trade publicly.
GOOGL shares are categorized as Class A shares. Class A shares are known as common shares. They give investors an ownership stake and, typically, voting rights. They are the most common type of shares.
A Summary of the Class Structures
Class A: Held by a regular investor with regular voting rights (GOOGL)
Class B: Held by the founders, with 10 times the voting power of Class A shares
Class C: No voting rights, typically held by employees and some Class A stockholders (GOOG)
GOOG vs. GOOGL: Which Is a Better Investment?
Because GOOGL shares come with voting rights, they may be considered more valuable. Shareholders with this type of stock can have a say in Google's corporate policy, vote for the board of directors, and approve or disapprove of any major decisions.
For this reason, GOOGL shares tend to trade at a slightly higher price than GOOG shares, due to the additional voting rights. However, most retail investors cannot buy enough shares to significantly affect the company's policies, making GOOG the slightly more cost-effective choice. In practice, the difference between the two share classes is usually small due to arbitrage.
How Voting Shares Are Used
Often, activist investors band together and accumulate shares to press companies into enacting shareholder-friendly initiatives that boost stock prices, such as cost-cutting, share buybacks, and special dividends. This process can become hostile, with activists engaging in public battles to win board seats and wrest control of the company from management. After issuing nonvoting shares to retain majority control, Brin and Page need not worry about this possibility.
In 2017, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that it would no longer add companies with multiple share classes or limited shareholder rights to its most popular indexes while grandfathering in those already included.
Are GOOGL Shares More Valuable Than GOOG Shares?
Because GOOGL shares have voting rights, and because these rights have some value, they often trade at a slight premium. In reality, GOOG and GOOGL often trade for just around the same price. For example, on Aug. 1, 2022, GOOG shares opened at around $115.53 and GOOGL at $115.30. Sometimes, one share class will trade at a relative premium to the other, but due to arbitrage opportunities, these spreads will often close over time.
When Was the GOOG Stock Split?
On Jul. 15, 2022, Google conducted one of the largest stock splits in history. It was a 20-for-one split, meaning that any investor with a share of GOOG or GOOGL stock before the split had 20 shares of the stock after the split. This affected all share classes of Google stock, making the shares significantly more affordable to retail investors.
What Are Alphabet’s Class B Shares?
Alphabet also has a class of B sharesthat are only owned byinsiders, and do not trade on stock exchanges. The B shares are thus owned by Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, and a few other directors. Unlike A shares that confer one vote per share, shareholders of B shares receive 10 votes.
The Bottom Line
There’s definitely a difference between the price of the two types of Google shares that you can buy, though it is relatively small. If you feel that voting at the stockholders’ meeting is important to you, then aim for the A shares.
Key Takeaways. Alphabet, Google's parent company, has two listed share classes
share classes
A share class is a designation applied to a specified type of security such as common stock or mutual fund unit. Companies that have more than one class of common stock usually identify a given class with alphabetic markers, such as "Class A" shares and "Class B" shares; these carry different rights and privileges.
that use slightly different ticker symbols. GOOGL shares are its Class A shares, also known as common stock, which have the typical one-share, one-vote structure.GOOG shares are Class C shares that confer no voting rights.
The decision on which to buy depends on the investor's goals. If having a say in company decisions is important, GOOGL might be the preferred choice. However, if voting rights are not a concern and one is looking for potentially lower-priced shares, GOOG could be more appealing.
Price and voting rights are the only differences between GOOG and GOOGL shares of Google. Normally shares that have voting rights are more valuable than shares without voting rights. However in the case of Google stock the non-voting shares currently cost more per share.
Investors generally should consider Class A shares (the initial sales charge alternative) if they expect to hold the investment over the long term. Class C shares (the level sales charge alternative) should generally be considered for shorter-term holding periods.
Alphabet is the world's third-largest technology company by revenue and one of the world's most valuable companies. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries.
Because GOOGL (class A) stock owners have voting rights, the shares tend to cost slightly more than GOOG (class C). However, the price difference is tiny — often less than $1, which is under 0.1% of the stock price. It also frequently happens that GOOG shares temporarily cost more than GOOGL shares.
- The Verge. Hey, Google stock now pays a dividend too. Alphabet's first-ever dividend will pay shareholders 20 cents per share on June 17th, and the Google owner “intends to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future” too.
Alphabet Class A has a consensus rating of Strong Buy which is based on 32 buy ratings, 5 hold ratings and 0 sell ratings. What is Alphabet Class A's price target? The average price target for Alphabet Class A is $196.42. This is based on 37 Wall Streets Analysts 12-month price targets, issued in the past 3 months.
Stock Prediction 2030. In 2030, the Alphabet Inc. stock will reach $ 526.00 if it maintains its current 10-year average growth rate. If this Alphabet Inc. stock prediction for 2030 materializes, GOOG stock will grow 192.91% from its current price.
As of 2024-05-20, the Intrinsic Value of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) is 203.15 USD. This Alphabet (Google) valuation is based on the model Discounted Cash Flows (Growth Exit 5Y). With the current market price of 176.92 USD, the upside of Alphabet Inc is 14.8%. The range of the Intrinsic Value is 129.91 - 509.14 USD.
The main difference between the GOOG and GOOGL stock ticker symbols is that GOOG shares have no voting rights, while GOOGL shares do. The company created a new class of nonvoting stock in April 2014 and issued a Class C share for each Class A share previously held by shareholders.
Due to their smaller size, Class C motorhomes can fit into more parks and campsites, get better gas mileage, and are easier to maneuver. However, a smaller size also means less space. Class A motorhomes typically have more sleeping and storage space when compared to a Class C.
Alphabet's Class A stocks (GOOGL) come with voting rights while the Class C stocks (GOOG) do not. Because of this difference, GOOG tends to trade at a slight discount compared to GOOGL. Other than voting rights, both classes of stocks are similar – both allow you to own an equal stake in Alphabet.
So what exactly is the difference between the two and which one should you buy? There is only one difference: GOOGL stocks grant voting rights to shareholders, offering a voice in company decisions, while GOOG stocks don't. So you should make your choice accordingly.
The Google parent's lower figures suggest its stock currently offers far more value than Apple. Alongside a better performance in 2023 and a firmer position in the rapidly expanding AI market, Alphabet is the better tech stock this month.
Over the last few years, the company has evolved from primarily being a search-engine provider to cloud computing, ad-based video and music streaming, autonomous vehicles, healthcare providers and others. GOOGL sits at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), holds a Value Style Score of B, and has a VGM Score of B.
One example is the different types of stock for Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Common stock trades as GOOGL, while preferred stock trades as GOOG.
As of 2024-05-19, the Fair Value of Alphabet Inc (GOOGL) is 159.68 USD. This value is based on the Peter Lynch's Fair Value formula. With the current market price of 176.06 USD, the upside of Alphabet Inc is -9.3%.
Address: Apt. 203 613 Huels Gateway, Ralphtown, LA 40204
Phone: +2135150832870
Job: Regional Design Producer
Hobby: Nordic skating, Lacemaking, Mountain biking, Rowing, Gardening, Water sports, role-playing games
Introduction: My name is Fredrick Kertzmann, I am a gleaming, encouraging, inexpensive, thankful, tender, quaint, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
