Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, has become the fourth company in history to achieve a $4 trillion market valuation. This milestone, reached on Monday, underscores the immense investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence and the continued dominance of mega-cap technology firms in global equity markets. Alphabet's shares climbed as much as 2% during the session, joining an elite group that includes Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple.
The surge to record highs was significantly bolstered by a major announcement from Apple. The two tech giants revealed they have entered into a multi-year collaboration where future Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google's Gemini AI models and cloud technology. "These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year," the companies stated in a joint announcement. This partnership serves as a high-profile endorsement of Google's AI capabilities and reinforced its standing as a leading AI platform provider.
Alphabet's ascent caps a volatile year for the stock, which hit a 52-week closing low of $144.70 on April 8, 2025. Earlier concerns included potential antitrust trial remedies and competitive pressure from rival AI chatbots. However, these fears have eased in recent months as Alphabet rolled out a series of AI products, including the latest version of Gemini and the Nano Banana image generator, which helped restore investor confidence in its strategy.
Beyond AI, Alphabet's cloud computing business has emerged as a major growth engine. Google Cloud's revenue rose 34% in the third quarter, with a backlog of non-recognized sales contracts climbing to $155 billion. The unit has benefited from renting out Google's internally developed AI chips to external customers. The strength of this business even attracted a rare technology-sector investment from Berkshire Hathaway, further boosting investor sentiment.
