How to buy Alphabet shares

Alphabet shares have fallen -0.52% from yesterday's closing price ($101.62). Learn how to easily invest in Alphabet shares in the UK.

Alphabet
NASDAQ: GOOGL - USD
$101.00
- $0.62 ( - 0.61%)
INTERNET CONTENT & INFORMATION

Alphabet Inc Class A (GOOGL) is a publicly traded internet content and information business based in the US. In the week up to 19 March Alphabet shares surged 12.13% to a closing position of $101.62. However, over the last 12 months, Alphabet's share price has fallen by 25.74% from $136.13 (accounting for the 18 July 2022 split). Alphabet is listed on the NASDAQ and employs 190,234 staff. All prices are listed in US Dollars.

How to buy shares in Alphabet

  1. Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
  2. Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
  3. Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
  4. Search the platform for stock code: GOOGL in this case.
  5. Research Alphabet shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
  6. Buy your Alphabet shares. It's that simple.
The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes. You'll need a smartphone or computer, an internet connection, your passport or driving licence and a means of payment.
Our top picks for where to buy Alphabet shares:

BEST FOR

Welcome Bonus

CMC Invest image

Best for

Beginner investments

IG Share Dealing image

Fees for buying 5x Alphabet shares with popular platforms

Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform Customer rating Platform fee Min. initial deposit Trading fee estimate
Freetrade logo ★★★★★ £0 £1 £1.85
£413.34 total
Capital at risk
eToro Free Stocks logo ★★★★★ £0 $50 £2.06
£413.54 total
Capital at risk
IG Share Dealing logo ★★★★★ £0 £250 £10.24
£421.73 total
Capital at risk
CMC Invest logo Not yet rated £0 No minimum £2.06
£413.54 total
Capital at risk
Fineco logo ★★★★★ £0 No minimum £4.11
£415.60 total
Capital at risk
Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account logo ★★★★★ £0 £1 £16.06
£427.55 total
Capital at risk
Degiro Share Dealing logo ★★★★★ £0 £0.01 £0.41
£411.90 total
Capital at risk

Full comparison of share dealing platforms

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Alternative ways to invest in Alphabet

Is it a good time to buy Alphabet stock?

Only you can make the decision on the time to leap. The gauge below shows real-time ratings that are based on 26 popular indicators such as moving averages, for specific time periods. It's not a recommendation but is simply technical analysis that can form part of your research.

Finder might not agree with the analysis and we take no responsibility. We also give no representations or warranty on the accuracy or completeness of the information provided on this page.

Promoted
eToro Free Stocks

Invest in Alphabet shares

  • Start investing from $50
  • Pay no stamp duty on UK shares
  • Commission-free trading. Other fees may apply.

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Is Alphabet under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value. Check out the Alphabet P/E ratio, PEG ratio and EBITDA

Alphabet's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 20x. In other words, Alphabet shares trade at around 20x recent earnings.

That's relatively low compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The low P/E ratio could mean that investors are pessimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're under-valued.

However, Alphabet's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the internet content & information industry or those of similar companies.

Alphabet's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 1.3404. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Alphabet's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider Alphabet's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

Alphabet's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $90.8 billion (£73.9 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Alphabet's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

What's Alphabet's ESG track record?

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Alphabet.

Overall Alphabet ESG score

Alphabet's total ESG risk: 20.35

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Alphabet's overall score of 20.35 (as at 01/01/2019) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 29th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Alphabet is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

To gain some more context, you can compare Alphabet's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

Alphabet's environmental score: 3.52/100

Alphabet's social score: 6.37/100

Alphabet's governance score: 7.99/100

Alphabet's controversy score: 4/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Alphabet scored a 4 out of 5 for controversy – the second-lowest score possible, reflecting that Alphabet has a damaged public profile.

Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.

Frequently asked questions

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

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