Alphabet has entered a rarefied tier of global companies after becoming the fourth business to surpass a $4 trillion market capitalisation.
The milestone was reached on Monday as shares in Google’s parent company climbed following a key announcement involving Apple’s future artificial intelligence plans.
Alphabet stock rose around 1% during the session, closing at $331.86 and pushing its overall valuation just beyond the $4 trillion threshold.
That move places Alphabet alongside Nvidia, Microsoft and Apple as the only companies to ever reach that level.
Apple Partnership Sparks Fresh Momentum
Investor enthusiasm was fuelled by confirmation from Apple that it plans to use Google’s Gemini technology as a foundation for its artificial intelligence models.
The partnership will also play a role in the next generation of Siri, giving Alphabet a direct link into Apple’s vast consumer ecosystem.
The announcement reinforced market confidence that Google’s AI strategy is gaining real traction across the industry.
It also marked a notable shift in sentiment after years of concern that rivals were moving faster in consumer-facing AI tools.
A Standout Performer In 2025
Alphabet’s valuation surge follows a stellar 2025, during which its shares climbed roughly 65%.
That marked the company’s strongest annual performance since 2009, when the stock doubled in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
The rally reflected renewed confidence in Alphabet’s long-term growth prospects after a period of regulatory pressure and competitive anxiety.
By the end of the year, Alphabet had firmly re-established itself as one of Wall Street’s top-performing mega-cap stocks.
AI Comeback And Hardware Advances
Much of the renewed optimism stems from Alphabet’s progress in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
In November, the company unveiled Ironwood, the seventh generation of its custom tensor processing units designed for AI workloads.
The chip has been viewed as a credible alternative to Nvidia’s dominant offerings, particularly for large-scale data centre use.
That momentum continued in December with the launch of Gemini 3, which received strong early reviews across the tech industry.
Beating Back Competitive Fears
Alphabet’s advances come despite the growing popularity of competing AI products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Sora.
There have also been broader concerns about how AI chatbots could disrupt online advertising, the backbone of Google’s revenue.
So far, Alphabet has managed to reassure investors that innovation remains central to its business model.
The company’s deep integration across search, cloud infrastructure and consumer services has helped calm fears of long-term decline.
Analysts Highlight Structural Advantages
In a January 8 research note, analyst Deepak Mathivanan upgraded Alphabet’s stock outlook.
“We believe the technological advantages of the Gemini assistant app — powered by Google’s ‘grounding’ assets — vs. ChatGPT (powered by Bing and partner integrations) are underappreciated,” Mathivanan wrote.
Google, he added, “arguably, has the strongest footprint across several layers in the AI tech stack, and the company’s decade-long investments have enabled deep competitive moats.”
Citi analysts echoed that view, naming Google a top internet pick for 2026.
They noted that roughly 70% of Google Cloud customers already use its AI products, highlighting strong demand across the platform.
