Alphabet Shareholders | Who Owns The Most Shares of Alphabet? (2024)

Alphabet’s (GOOGL) $100bn cash reserve has not saved the stock from the latest deterioration in macroeconomic conditions as investors fear that a global recession could hit Google’s advertising revenues.

Thus far in 2022, the parent company of the world’s most used search engine has seen its share price drop by 32.5%, as of 29 November.

Who are the investors suffering from the decline? Here we take a look at the ownership structure of the tech giant and reveal who the largest Alphabet shareholders are.

Alphabet (GOOGL) live stock price

What is Alphabet (GOOGL)?

Alphabet is the parent company of Google, the internet’s most successful search engine. It was founded in 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin and, as of November 2022, it is one of the world's largest publicly traded companies by market capitalisation.

Google’s business is divided into three segments: Google Services, Google Cloud and Other Bets. The Google Services unit includes all of the revenues produced by the Google ecosystem, including Gmail, Maps, Drive, Play Store and YouTube. This segment accounts for the majority of the company’s top line.

The Cloud segment is the second largest in terms of revenue and includes all revenues generated by the company’s cloud solutions such as Workspace and the Google Cloud Platform for storing and transferring data.

Alphabet went public in August 2004 at an initial public offering (IPO) of $85 apiece. The company’s Class A and Class C shares are listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols ‘GOOGL’ and ‘GOOG’, respectively.

In the past 10 years, GOOGL stock has gained 250.5%, as of 29 November, outperforming the S&P 500 (US 500), which grew 84% - but underperforming the US Tech 100 (US Tech 100), which was up 343.7%.

Who are the shareholders of Alphabet?

According to its latest annual report, Alphabet issues three classes of common shares. Class A shares entitle the holder to one vote. Class B shares have a voting power of 10 votes per share and Class C shares have no voting power.

Who owns the most shares of Alphabet? As of 31 December 2021, Larry Page and Sergey Brin owned 85.9% of the company’s Class B shares meaning that they controlled approximately 51.4% of the company’s voting power.

Meanwhile, 4,907 stockholders of record held the company’s Class A common stock and another 1,733 held the firm’s Class C shares as of 31 December 2021. Only 64 stockholders held the totality of the company’s Class B common shares.

GuruFocus data, as of 29 November 2022, revealed that 59.13% of Alphabet’s stock was owned by insiders, including the two founders, while 22.21% of common shares were owned by institutions including brokerage firms, hedge funds, pension funds and asset management companies.

MarketScreener indicated that The Vanguard Group, The Capital Group and State Street were the top three shareholders of Alphabet. These brokerage and asset management firms either held the stock on behalf of clients or within mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) they manage.

Google’s Class A and Class B shares have voting rights, meaning that all Alphabet shareholders who own these shares have a say in the company’s affairs in line with the size of their holding.

Individuals who buy Alphabet stock through a broker can appoint them as a proxy, meaning that the broker can vote on their behalf. They can also opt to cast a vote on the company’s key decisions at Alphabet shareholders meetings.

List of Alphabet biggest shareholders among institutions

Below are Alphabet’s biggest shareholders among institutional investors, according to MarketScreener data as of 29 November.

• The Vanguard Group

Vanguard is among the largest asset management firms based in the US with assets under management (AUM) exceeding the $8trn mark, as of 30 September. The company provides both guided and self-directed investment solutions.

Some of its most popular products are ETFs and mutual funds that track the performance of various stock indices. Many of these funds invest in individual stocks like Alphabet, which is why Vanguard is listed among the largest GOOGL shareholders.

• The Capital Group

The Capital Group oversaw more than $2tn in assets for its customers, as of June 2022, through an ample portfolio of investment solutions and products, including actively-managed vehicles like mutual funds.

Some of these funds focus on the tech industry while others track the performance of broad-market indices such as the S&P 500 and US Tech 100, where Alphabet accounts for a large percentage of the holdings due to its market capitalisation.

• State Street

State Street is an asset management firm and the third biggest GOOGL shareholder. By the end of 2021, State Street had $4.1tn in AUM. The company offers access to investment vehicles via its State Street Global Advisors subsidiary. This is the reason why the company is listed among the major shareholders of Alphabet.

Alphabet major shareholders among insiders

The following individuals are considered the largest shareholders of Alphabet among the company’s insiders, according to data from GuruFocus as of 29 November.

The list includes the firm’s top executives and members of the board, but excludes the two founders of the firm – Sergey Brin and Larry Page. This list only includes the Class C shares held by insiders.

• Sundar Pichai – 153,360 shares

• Ruth M. Porat – 92,700 shares

• Amie Thuener O’Toole – 19,060 shares

• Ramon Martin Chavez – 8,824 shares

• Frances H. Arnold – 5,400 shares

These shares have been granted to insiders by the company via stock options as part of their compensation package.

• Sundar Pichai

Mr. Pichai is the CEO. He was appointed in 2019 after spending four years as the head of Google. He holds a Master in Business Administration from the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and worked at consulting firm McKinsey & Co. shortly before joining Alphabet’s ranks in 2004.

• Ruth M. Porat

Ruth Porat is Alphabet’s CFO, a role she’s held since 2015 after spending 27 years at the investment banking giant Morgan Stanley (MS), where she served in the same position.

• Amie Thuener O’Toole

Amie O’Toole is the CAO (chief accounting officer) at Alphabet. She has been with the firm since 2013. Before joining Alphabet, she was a director at several for profit and non-profit firms, and was a managing director at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Final thoughts

Note that while it’s important to know who are the biggest Alphabet shareholders, this information shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research.

Always conduct your own due diligence before trading, looking at the latest news, technical and fundamental analysis, and a wide range of analyst commentary.

Remember, past performance does not guarantee future returns. And never trade money you cannot afford to lose.

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