Five biggest US tech companies are now worth more than $5.2 TRILLION as Google’s parent Alphabet becomes fourth firm to reach milestone valuation
- Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Facebook are the five most valuable US tech firms
- Alphabet’s share price closed at $1,450 on Thursday, bringing its market capitalization across the $1trillion threshold
- Only Apple, Microsoft and Amazon have reached the milestone in the US
- It comes amid a period of senior leadership changes at Google; Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, ascended to become CEO of the parent company
- Analysts are optimistic about Google’s focus on its cloud storage systems
The five most valuable tech firms in the United States are now worth more than $5.2trillion after Google’s parent company became the latest giant to join the 13-figure club.
Google’s parent company Alphabet became the fourth US company to be valued at $1trillion on Thursday.
The company’s share price soared throughout the day and closed at $1,450 – its highest ever.
It follows in the footsteps of Apple, Microsoft and Amazon which all reached the milestone last year.
Amazon’s market capitalization has retreated back down since then but both Apple and Microsoft remain valued at more than $1trillion.
Facebook, the fifth most valuable American tech firm, is worth $630.52billion.
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Google account for 17 per cent of the total net worth of all companies listed on the S&P 500, according to CNBC.
Alphabet’s market cap reached $1trillion on Thursday as its share price soared to a new high
The valuation marks a strong start to the year on Wall Street and is indicative of the unprecedented strong streak the markets have enjoyed over the last year.
Experts say Alphabet’s increased strength is solely due to to Google and how ubiquitous it has become.
Sundar Pichai ascended from CEO of Google to CEO of Alphabet late last year
‘Google is one of those critical, important leaders in multiple areas.
‘You almost can’t live your life without Googling things,’ Michael Lippert of the Opportunity Fund, told The Wall Street Journal.
‘It’s really been a cash cow.
‘They’ve been steadily continuing to post 15% to 20% growth, which is pretty amazing when you consider how mature that model is,’ Dan Morgan, a senior portfolio manager who focuses on tech at Synovus Trust Co., added.
The landmark valuation comes after a period of restructure within the highest levels of Google’s executive leadership.
In December, founder Larry Page announced he was stepping down as CEO, as was co-founder and president Sergey Brin.
Sundar Pichai – who had been Google’s CEO – ascended to become CEO of Alphabet.
Analysts are also optimistic about the future of its cloud service.
‘Google is a stock that won’t get you fired,’ said Kevin Landis, a portfolio manager at Firsthand Funds who hasn’t added to his current Alphabet position since the first quarter of 2019.
‘Will I be able to double my money in this stock from here? I’m not sure about that.’
The company has bolstered its sales force and is aggressively working towards its Google Cloud Health systems.
Shares of the Internet search giant are up nearly 17% over the last three months, outpacing a broader rally in the S&P 500 index over the same period by 6 percentage points.
Short interest in the stock, a measure of how many investors are betting on a price decline, is at 1%, near a 52-week high for the company and higher than competitors such as Microsoft and Facebook, according to Refinitv data.