Direct Answer

Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, went public in August 2004 at $85 per share, restructured under the Alphabet holding company in 2015, executed a 20-for-1 stock split in 2022, initiated its first cash dividend in 2024 and saw Class A shares (GOOGL) added to the Dow Jones Industrial Average on June 29, 2026.

1998: Founding

Google began in 1998 as a research project by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The project grew out of work on the Stanford Digital Library Project and an approach to ranking web pages based on link structure.

The company was incorporated in September 1998. Early investors included Andy Bechtolsheim, who wrote a check before the company was formally incorporated, followed by venture funding from Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital.

Source: Google company history

2004: IPO at $85 per share

Google went public in August 2004 using a Dutch auction process. SEC filings from the IPO period state that 19,605,052 Class A shares were sold to the public at $85 per share in the initial offering.

The dual-class share structure introduced at the IPO was an early version of what became the three-class structure (Class A, Class B and Class C) that exists today. Founders and early executives retained significant voting control through higher-vote Class B shares.

Source: Google 2004 IPO filing

2015: Alphabet restructuring

In August 2015, Google announced a significant corporate restructuring. A new parent company, Alphabet Inc., was created. Google became a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet, and Larry Page became CEO of Alphabet while Sundar Pichai became CEO of Google.

Larry Page's 2015 letter described the structure as a way to give major businesses greater independence and accountability while keeping Google more focused on internet products.

The Alphabet structure separated clearly profitable businesses like Google from earlier-stage businesses grouped under Other Bets, making segment economics more transparent to investors.

Source: Alphabet 2015 Founders' Letter

2022: 20-for-1 stock split

In 2022, Alphabet executed a 20-for-one stock split across its Class A, Class B and Class C shares. The split became effective July 18, 2022.

The split made shares more accessible to retail investors by reducing the per-share price. Because the split applied to all three share classes equally, it did not change the relative voting power between share classes.

Investors should adjust any historical per-share comparisons to reflect the split. A pre-split share price would need to be divided by 20 to compare with post-split prices on an equivalent basis.

Source: Alphabet 2022 Form 10-K

2024: Dividend initiation

In April 2024, Alphabet's board declared the company's first regular cash dividend: $0.20 per share per quarter across Class A, Class B and Class C shares.

This was a notable shift in capital allocation for a company that had previously returned cash almost entirely through share repurchases.

In April 2025, the board increased the quarterly dividend by 5% to $0.21 per share.

Future dividends remain subject to board approval each quarter.

Source: Alphabet April 2024 dividend 8-K

2026: DJIA inclusion

On June 23, 2026, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) would replace Verizon Communications in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, effective before the market open on June 29, 2026.

Alphabet became one of the newest DJIA additions, reflecting the company's prominence in the U.S. economy and its profile as a major technology and AI infrastructure business.

Index membership is an event-driven relationship with an effective date, not a permanent label. The research on this page covers Alphabet as a business independently of its index membership.

Source: S&P Global: Alphabet addition to DJIA, June 23, 2026

Key events timeline

  • 1998: Google incorporated by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
  • 2004: Google IPO on Nasdaq. 19,605,052 Class A shares sold at $85 per share.
  • 2006: Google acquires YouTube.
  • 2008: Android launched.
  • 2011: Larry Page returns as Google CEO; Eric Schmidt moves to executive chairman.
  • 2015: Alphabet holding company created; Sundar Pichai becomes Google CEO.
  • 2016: Larry Page and Sergey Brin become president and CEO of Alphabet respectively; Sundar Pichai continues as Google CEO.
  • 2019: Sundar Pichai becomes CEO of Alphabet and Google; Larry Page and Sergey Brin step down from executive roles at Alphabet.
  • 2022: 20-for-one stock split across Class A, B and C shares.
  • 2024: Alphabet initiates first quarterly cash dividend at $0.20 per share.
  • 2025: Quarterly dividend increased to $0.21 per share. DOJ search antitrust case produces final judgment in December 2025.
  • June 2026: Alphabet raises approximately $20.5B from common stock offering and approximately $19.0B from mandatory convertible preferred. GOOGL joins DJIA June 29, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Google founded?

Google was incorporated in September 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

What was the Google IPO price?

Google went public in August 2004. SEC filings from the IPO period state that 19,605,052 Class A shares were sold to the public at $85 per share in the initial offering.

Why did Google create Alphabet?

In 2015, Google restructured itself under a new holding company called Alphabet. Larry Page's 2015 letter described the structure as a way to give major businesses greater independence and accountability while keeping Google more focused.

When did Alphabet do a stock split?

In 2022, Alphabet executed a 20-for-one stock split across its Class A, Class B and Class C shares.

When did Alphabet join the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective before the market open on June 29, 2026, replacing Verizon Communications.

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