GOOG vs. GOOGL
Understanding Alphabet Inc.’s Two Public Share Classes
Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) trades under two different tickers on the Nasdaq: GOOG and GOOGL. Both represent ownership in the same business, but they differ in voting power and typically trade at slightly different prices. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Share-Class Structure
| Ticker | Official Class | Votes per Share | Publicly Traded? | Typical Holder |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | Class A | 1 vote | Yes | General public, mutual funds |
| GOOG | Class C | 0 votes | Yes | General public, index funds |
| — | Class B | 10 votes | No (insiders only) | Founders, executives |
Alphabet created this structure in April 2014 when it issued Class C shares (GOOG) and converted the existing shares into Class A (GOOGL) so that founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin could keep outsized control (via Class B) while raising capital.
2. Key Differences
Voting Rights
• GOOGL: 1 vote per share.
• GOOG: No voting power.
In practice, insiders already control >50 % of total votes through Class B, so retail votes rarely sway outcomes.Price
• Because GOOGL carries voting rights, it usually trades $1–$2 (≈0.1 %–0.5 %) higher than GOOG.
• The spread fluctuates; arbitrage traders keep it narrow.Liquidity & Index Membership
• Both tickers are highly liquid, each trading tens of millions of shares daily.
• Both are constituents of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500, so most index funds hold both.Dividends & Economics
• No difference—neither class currently pays a dividend, and both have equal claims on Alphabet’s profits and assets.Tax Treatment
• Identical—capital gains, wash-sale rules, and holding periods apply the same way.
3. Historical Price Snapshot (rounded, 2025-06-14 close)
| Share | Price | 5-Year Total Return* |
|---|---|---|
| GOOGL | $178.40 | +192 % |
| GOOG | $177.10 | +192 % |
* Total return assumes reinvested hypothetical dividends (none paid) and stock splits (e.g., 20-for-1 in 2022).
4. Why Two Tickers Exist
Alphabet’s founders wanted to:
• Raise capital without giving up control
• Protect strategic flexibility (long-term bets like Waymo, DeepMind, etc.) from short-term shareholder pressure
• Maintain the “one share = one economic claim” principle while decoupling voting power
The dual-class model has since been adopted by many large tech firms (Meta, Snap, Airbnb).
5. Which Should You Buy?
- If you care about voting rights (e.g., you’re an activist investor or ESG-focused manager): choose GOOGL.
- If you only care about price performance and liquidity: GOOG is usually a few dollars cheaper, giving you slightly more exposure for the same cash outlay.
- If you’re dollar-cost-averaging: pick the ticker with the better bid-ask spread at the moment of purchase; many investors alternate or simply buy whichever their broker shows first.
In reality, most retail shareholders have little influence either way, so total-return expectations are effectively the same.
6. How to Remember
• GOOGL ⇒ “Google with an L” = Voting (Class A)
• GOOG ⇒ “Google without L” = No votes (Class C)
Think “L for Legislative power.”
7. Bottom Line
GOOG and GOOGL are economically equivalent slices of Alphabet. The only material distinction is voting rights, which have minimal practical impact for ordinary investors because insiders already command majority control. Choose GOOGL if you want a voice, GOOG if you want to shave a few pennies off the purchase price—or hold both and worry about bigger questions, like whether AI search will cement Alphabet’s next decade of growth.
Not investment advice; always consult a qualified financial professional for personal guidance.