How to Buy Alphabet Shares

How invest in Alphabet shares

1. Find out more about Alphabet shares
2. Download the IG invest app or open an online share dealing account with us
3. Develop a risk management strategy
4. Place your investment
5. Monitor Alphabet’s price movements

How much will it cost to buy Alphabet stock? 

*Other fees may apply

Alphabet is a US share listed on the US Tech 100 under the ticker GOOGL.O, so when buying from the UK, an FX fee will need to be paid.

What to consider before buying Alphabet stock

Before you invest in Alphabet shares, it’s advised that you develop an investment plan to help manage any possible risks. Here are some key things to consider:

What are your long-term goals?

Setting out clear investment objectives can help guide important decisions like the amount of capital you’re looking to invest and how long you intend to hold Alphabet shares for.

You should also be mindful of the fact that investing comes with risk, so it’s important to consider whether you can absorb any potential losses if the market moves against you.

When will you need the money?

Although it can never be guaranteed, investing can offer higher returns than cash savings, particularly if you take a long-term approach. If you think you’ll need the money before then, it may be worth exploring shorter term strategies.²

How much risk can you take?

The value of investments can frequently change and there’s always the possibility you could lose the capital you put in. It’s therefore important you develop a risk management strategy. 

This could include:

• Spreading your portfolio across a wide range of companies and sectors
• Setting up price alerts to monitor market movements
• Focusing on long-term growth²

How to research Alphabet stock as an investment

If you want to analyse Alphabet’s share price, you can carry out  fundamental analysis. This approach is different to technical analysis – which is primarily concerned with chart patterns and price action – as it attempts to determine the inherent profitability of a company based on financial statements, company leadership and other macroeconomic factors.

You can find the company’s financial information on its website and within the company’s annual report.

Alphabet’s price-to-earnings ratio (P/E)  

P/E ratio shows how much you’d have to spend on Alphabet shares to make £1 in profit. To calculate the price-to-earnings ratio, divide Alphabet’s share price by its earnings per share (EPS).

A high P/E ratio could suggest that Alphabet stock is overvalued or that earnings are expected to increase. To get the most accurate view of Alphabet’s performance, it’s a good idea to compare its P/E ratio other competitors.

Alphabet’s return on equity (ROE)

ROE compares Alphabet’s income from its assets against its shareholder investments. To calculate return on equity, you’d divide Alphabet’s net income by stakeholder equity

Business model

Business model refers to the different ways a company generates profit.

Alphabet’s main revenue stream is Google. The vast majority of Google’s revenue is generated by advertising via its search engine. As well as this, Google’s AdSense places adverts on websites that are listed on its search algorithm. Companies pay Google for these ads, and they can move further up the Google search rankings by doing so – thus increasing the number of visitors to their sites.

In order to facilitate these large advertising revenues, Google needs a lot of users. As a result, Google’s main aim is to connect the world’s information, while making it universally accessible and useful.

In this regard, Google’s business model relies on ensuring that its users feel that the search engine is the best one out there, and it achieves this by constantly scanning and improving its algorithms to fight off competition from other search engines such as Microsoft’s Bing.

Log in to IG Academy to learn more about fundamental analysis and different ratios.

Why buy Alphabet shares?

As the parent company of Google, buying Alphabet shares provides you with exposure to one of the largest and arguably most influential tech companies worldwide¹. One of which is likely to be a key player in shaping the future development of the internet, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing.

The company has already taken steps towards this by integrating AI tools into most of its product offerings as well as developing its own large language model Google Gemini. In doing this, Alphabet is managing to compete with competitors whilst leveraging AI to generate multiple revenue streams.

As well as Google, Alphabet owns a range of different companies including YouTube, Fitbit, DeepMind and Nest. Its diverse product offering enables the company to reach a variety of audiences and meet a range of user needs whilst offering some protection against economic turmoil and positioning it well for future growth.²

What to do after buying Alphabet shares

After opening a position in Alphabet, it’s important to regularly manage it via our online platform. Share prices can fluctuate so it’s important to stay on top of current news and events that could impact price movements.

Footnotes:

¹ Statista, 2025

² Please note that financial markets can be unpredictable and future growth can never be guaranteed