How to buy Google shares in 5 easy steps

Google is one of the biggest brands worldwide, and it’s a big part of our lives. Think about how much Google affects our work and how we live.

Have you ever thought about owning a piece of a company that changed how we work and live? In this article, we’ll show you how you can easily buy Google shares in the United Kingdom.

What is Google?

Google is one of the biggest technology companies globally. You probably know it best for its main thing—the search engine. But Google does more. It makes all sorts of software and services for devices.

Starting in 2015, Google changed. It became a part of a new company named Alphabet Inc. This new company had different parts like Google, Calico, DeepMind, and Waymo. The goal was to give these different parts more freedom. Larry Page became Alphabet’s CEO, and Sergey Brin became its president. Sundar Pichai took over as Google’s CEO.

Since early 2023, Google started putting a lot of effort into investing in artificial intelligence.

General information about Google

• Parent Company: Alphabet, Inc.
• Ticker: GOOGL
• ISIN: US02079K3059
• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ

Who are Larry Page and Sergey Brin?

Larry Page and Sergey Brin started Google Inc. in 1998. They wanted to help people find information on the internet easily.

At first, Google became a top search engine, competing with others such as Yahoo and MSN. In fact, in 2002, Yahoo attempted to acquire Google for a sum of $3 billion, but Page and Brin rejected the offer.

Who is the CEO of Google?

The current CEO of Google is Sundar Pichai. Pichai joined Google in 2004 and worked on several important projects, including the development of Google Chrome and the implementation of Google Apps, before being appointed CEO in 2015 after the reorganisation of Google as a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Since then, Pichai has led Google’s expansion into areas such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud and mobile technology.

Why should you buy Google shares?

There are multiple reasons why investors buy Google shares. Here are some of the main ones:

Peter Lynch philosophy

One of Peter Lynch’s financial mantras is “invest in what you know”. It is extremely difficult to find someone who has never used Google.

Consequently, Google is practically a monopoly, a company with absolute dominance in its sector. In fact, Alphabet’s subsidiary is the most used search engine in the UK, with a market share of 93.69%.

Google also owns YouTube, which is the top platform for watching videos. It’s closely followed by TikTok, but Google is still ahead.

Alphabet/Google share price performance

Since it became a public company in 2004, Alphabet’s stock has seen remarkable growth. It’s become one of the highest-valued stocks, offering impressive returns even during economic crises. Google’s shares, a part of Alphabet, have generally held their value during tough times, experiencing few corrections until the financial disruption caused by Covid.

Diversification of Alphabet’s businesses

Alphabet engages in various businesses including:

• Calico: A subsidiary researching technologies to combat aging and related diseases, including a collaboration with Abbvie (ABBV) to extend life by 2045.
• DeepMind: Focused on AI and machine learning research, creating algorithms and self-improving AI systems.
• Waymo: The goal is to create fully autonomous vehicles that can operate safely and efficiently on roads and help improve road safety and mobility.
• Google: Known for its search engine and several popular products:
  • Youtube: Leading online video platform.
  • Google Chrome: Widely used web browser.
  • Gmail: Prominent email service.
  • Google Maps: Offers global mapping.
  • Google Translate: Renowned language translation tool.
  • Google Drive: File creation and storage.

Google’s 20:1 stock split in 2022

Alphabet (GOOGL) and (GOOG), Google’s parent company, performed a 20:1 stock split, giving investors 19 extra shares for each one they owned. This made shares more accessible, psychologically, even though the real value didn’t change. After this, one share became a lot more accessible for small investors. Google had previously split shares in 2014.

Google Class C Stocks

Introduced in 2014, Google’s Class C stocks lack voting rights. Owners can’t vote on company matters, but these stocks receive preferential tax treatment, meaning they’re taxed at a lower rate than Class A and B stocks, which do allow voting.

Google’s focus on AI | Google vs Microsoft

With the emergence of Chat GPT in late 2022, a battle for dominance in AI-driven user interaction ensued. Microsoft invested heavily in developing and integrating Chat GPT into Bing. Google responded with Bard, another AI chat.

However, Bard’s launch had issues; it didn’t know basic facts, causing Google’s stocks to drop 9% in a session. Still, considering Google’s subsidiary DeepMind and its dedication to AI, many believe Google won’t back down from the AI field.

How to buy Google shares: step-by-step guide

To invest in Google, follow these simple steps:

• Create an account with a broker and fund it.
• Search for Alphabet’s stock (Google) in the trading platform’s search field.
• Select the number of shares to buy.
• Choose the order type.
• Click to send your order.

Where to buy Google shares?

Here are some of the best brokers for buying Google shares:

For more information about these brokers, visit the following articles:

• XTB review
• DEGIRO review
• eToro review
• Interactive Brokers review

How to buy Google stocks with Interactive Brokers | Practical example

Here is a step-by-step explanation of how to buy Google Stocks via IBKR:

Step 1: Open account with IBKR

In order to buy Google stocks via IB, you must first create an account on the platform. To do this, access the IBKR website and follow these steps:

• Enter your personal information; such as name, email, and date of birth.
• Once you receive the confirmation email, you will have to verify your identity. This process will not take more than 10 minutes.
• And finally, you just have to deposit funds (to be able to buy stocks).

Step 2: Buy Google stocks with Interactive Brokers

First of all, we look for Google stocks on the Interactive Brokers platform. The search field is at the top of the screen. Once GOOGL or GOOG (depending if you want voting rights or not) appear, click on the shares.

Click on the “buy” button and add in your order details, such as type of stock order and number of shares.

Then, send the order, which will appear in your portfolio section on the IBKR platform.

Which companies compete with Google?

Google doesn’t have many competitors that can match it, especially in its core service like the search engine. The only real contender is Yahoo, but even then, it’s quite far behind Google in many ways.

However, Google does face strong competition from Microsoft. They both have similar products, like their own operating systems (Google’s Chrome OS), devices (Google’s Chromebook), and most notably, their cloud services (Google Cloud vs. Microsoft Azure).

When it comes to video platforms, TikTok, owned by ByteDance and partially by Asian company Tencent, poses a significant challenge.

Lastly, for its online advertising business, which makes up a substantial portion of its revenue, Google’s primary rival is undoubtedly Meta (Facebook’s parent company).

Pros and cons of investing in Google

Here are the summarised pros and cons of buying Google shares:

Buy Google shares: summary

In conclusion, investing in Google shares offers a window into a technological giant that has transformed the way we interact with information and the world around us. With its consistent growth, stability during economic shifts, and dominance across various sectors like search, cloud services, and video platforms, Google stands as a beacon of innovation and market leadership.

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